Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner
by BelieveTheWarIsOver
Summary: Following Jack Mercer from the age of 13, we watch him grow up, make friends, find family and maybe even fall in love.
1. A Warm Welcome

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.****

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Chapter 1:**

"Jack, do me a favor and stay. Don't run, don't mess this one up. I don't want to see you in my office again," Eric Rink, Jack's social worker, pleaded as he parked his old, beat up Volvo in front of an innocent looking house. They all looked innocent until he got inside, Jack thought sadly.

Jack just shrugged. Eric had never been so good at placing him before. How could he promise? He couldn't commit to staying somewhere with people who might hurt him. Besides, he was 13. No one wanted a 13 year old. He would be back in the system in no time.

Eric sighed. "Well, her name is Florence Grant. Her husband died a while back and her granddaughter lives with her. I'm not sure why she wants you, but please try to just stay put, alright?" Eric asked. Jack shrugged again, agreeing with the social worker in his own way. He couldn't understand why this lady would want him either.

The two got out of the car and Jack carefully slung his bag over his shoulder. He still had a few fresh bruises and cuts from his last foster home and they hurt. He hung back a bit as Eric knocked on the door. The only thing keeping him from running was the fact that this wasn't some cranky middle-aged man who just wanted more beer. This was an old lady and her granddaughter. He didn't see what kind of harm they could do him. So instead, they would be was a warm house to live in until he was placed again.

When the door opened, a young girl, at about the same age and height as Jack, appeared. She smiled and motioned for Eric and Jack to come inside. "My grandma will be right back. She forgot something at the store and she wasn't expecting you guys until later," the girl smiled. Jack eyed her curiously. She had long, curly red hair that reached the small of her back and large chocolate brown eyes. Considering her lithe frame and her initial kindness, Jack didn't think she would be hurting him at all, but he wasn't about to let appearances fool him. He had let that happen before and couldn't afford to let it happen again.

The girl led them into the living room and motioned for them to sit on the couch while she settled down on a large, overstuffed armchair. "I'm Meg," she said with a small smile.

"Megan Steel if I'm not mistaken," Eric said properly.

"That is my full name Mr. Rink, but I prefer Meg," she replied, retaining her smile.

"Of course," Eric said nodding his head. "This is Jack Rhode. He'll be living with you as your foster brother for as long as your grandmother plans to keep him."

"He's more like a foster uncle if my Gran's taking him in as her own," she teased, her smile widening to her eyes as she laughed at her own joke.

"Yes, I suppose so," Eric said, clearly not knowing what to say. Jack just sat there watching the pair talk. After a bit, the small talk got too boring and he began to look around the room. It was cozy, with a few mismatched chairs and couches. There was a small cabinet that he assumed held a television and maybe a dozen pictures on the walls. His eyes landed on a picture that looked like Meg family. There were two adults, Meg and three other children all huddled close together as snow came down around them.

"Well Mr. Rink. I don't know where my grandmother is, but if you have something to give her, I would be glad to pass it along for you so you could get on your way," Meg said kindly.

"I did want to discuss something with her but I suppose I could just do that over the phone," Eric said to himself. "Yes, I'll just call. It's been lovely meeting you Meg, and Jack, you be good," he said, giving Jack a knowing look. Jack just nodded to make him leave him alone. "I'll show myself out," he said to Meg as he saw her get up to show him to the front hall. Eric left the room and once they two teenagers heard the door shut, Megan stood up.

"C'mon, I'll show you around," Megan said, her sunny disposition still intact. Jack simply followed her. "So are you from Detroit?" she asked.

Jack was glad that Megan picked up on the fact that he didn't want to talk when he didn't respond. He hadn't said a word to any body since he has left his last foster home two weeks earlier.

"Well, here it is," Megan said after they had walked up to the third floor together. She pushed open one of the doors to reveal Jack's new room. Jack nearly gasped. It was at least four times the size of any other room he had been given in the past. There was a queen-sized bed to his right and to his left there was a large bookcase with an overstuffed armchair, similar to the one Megan had sat down on downstairs in the living room. In front of him, there were two large windows, one with a window seat, and an even larger armoire to put his clothing in between the two. Behind him was a desk. The walls were painted a light blue color and the carpet was dark blue.

"Uh, well, I hope you like it," Megan whispered from behind Jack. Her smile had faded after he had responded with silence to her earlier questions. He almost felt guilty. "I'm going to go to my room. It's the one right across the hall. When you're unpacked, come and find me and I'll give you the grand tour. Gran should be home by then, but you never know," she explained as she back out of the room quietly. He was grateful that she was being so nice about all this and giving him his space.

Ten minutes later, all of Jack's things were put away. With nothing else to do, he found himself standing in front of Megan's door and knocking.

"Hey, wow, that was fast," Megan said as she opened her door, with a cell phone pressed up to her face. "No, not you Lex," she said quickly returning her attention to the phone. "Call me later," she finished and smiled at something her friend had said before snapping her phone close.

"Alright, so this is the third floor. You know where your room is, and my room. Over there's the bathroom and then that's the linen closet," Megan said pointing while she exited her room, cell phone still in hand as she closed the door behind her. "Behind that door is a staircase to the attic. No one really goes up there. It's filled with World War II stuff from when my grandpa was in the army and some other old junk that my grandma can't part with. I don't think she even knows what's up there," she informed, as she led Jack to the second floor.

"That's Gran's room. You're right above it, and while Gran's a relatively deep sleeper, I would keep the noise to a minimum," Megan said. "There's a bathroom connected to Gran's room and then there's another one right there. The second linen closet's over there and the room at the end of the hall is a guest room or whatever," she explained.

Megan grabbed Jack's arm to lead him downstairs and he jumped in response.

"You okay?" Megan asked, worry laced in her voice as she pulled back from Jack as if she had burnt her hand. He nodded and held his arm close to him, following his companion down the stairs, swearing to himself that he would be a lot more careful and attentive so that no one would ever have to touch him again.

"Um, alright," Megan said. Jack could see she knew something of where he came from. It was obvious that Eric told the Ms. Grant what had happened and he could only assume the girl was told something. Even if nothing was said, she had enough sense to not touch him again and to not make any sudden movements.

"So this is the ground floor. You have the dining room, kitchen and living room. There's another bathroom on this floor too and a maid's room. Well, actually, it's Bree's room. Bree! C'mere girl!" Megan called. A few moments later, a small kitten with ginger fur came ambling into the room. Once the kitten was close enough, she scooped up the small animal and held her to her chest.

"My sister got me Bree before she sent me to live here this summer," Megan said with a smile as the kitten yawned showing its small, yet sharp, teeth. "Bree, this is Jack, he'll be living with us for a while, kay?" she asked holding up the kitten to face Jack. Bree stretched out a paw and touched him on the cheek before her owner could stop her. "I'm sorry," Megan said as she pulled Bree away from Jack.

"That's alright," Jack said, his voice sounding scratchy from disuse.

"Oh!" Megan said in surprise. "Well, um, do you wanna hold her?" she asked, not knowing what to say.

Jack nodded and Megan handed over her new pet. She wasn't the only one who was surprised by Jack speaking. But since he had started, he didn't see the point in stopping. Well at least in front of her.

"Thanks for showing me around," Jack said softly.

"No problem," Megan said brightly. Jack was confused as to why she was so happy that he was talking, but he wasn't going to question her. She seemed nice so far and he didn't want to upset her enough to make her want to hurt him.

"Uh, all that's left is the basement. It used to be junk down there but when I got here I made it my project. It's almost done now. It's got a foosball table, a ping pong table, a big ass television and my video games from home," Megan said proudly.

"What games you got?" Jack asked curiously.

"I don't really know. My friends kinda threw them at me as I was leaving. I do know I have a copy of Super Smash Brothers," Megan said happily.

"Super Smash Brothers?" Jack asked.

"Only the best game there ever was. It's like the only one I can play, but I'm so good at it so if you ever wanna challenge me, you better make sure you're ready to lose," Megan said smugly.

"I don't know how to play, but my foster siblings always talked about it," Jack said pulling Bree closer to him. The small kitten jumped out of his arms and onto his shoulder in response, not liking the feeling of being squished. He knew exactly how she felt.

"Oh, well I can teach you. I remember, my friends would never slow down and teach me, so one summer I bought the game and I sat down and I played and played until I was able to beat all of them easily," Megan recounted fondly. Jack simply nodded his head and winced and Bree stepped on one of his many bruises.

"Oh I'm sorry, I meant to cut her nails, I just forgot because I've been so busy with your room and the basement," Megan said as she reached up and took Bree off Jack's shoulder. She cradled the kitten and pressed on her paw to make her reveal her claws. "Ow," she winced. "Do you want me to see if there's a scratch? If she left one, you should clean it up. I could help," she continued, offered her assistance hesitantly.

"No, it's alright," Jack said while shaking his head vigorously, knowing it wasn't Bree's claws that had hurt him.

"Alright," Megan shrugged as she set Bree on the floor. "Oh! That's Gran pulling into the garage. I'll show you that later. There's a bunch of stuff there like old ice skates and bikes."

"I, uh…" Jack trailed off shyly.

"Yes?" Megan prompted. Jack could tell she was eager to see some of his personality.

"Nothing, forget it," Jack said shaking his head.

"Oh," Megan said, biting her lower lip. "Well come on. Gran'll be happy to meet you finally." Jack just nodded and followed Megan.

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**A/N: So that's the beginning. I know it's different, but give me time. Jack will be a Mercer yet. **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	2. Fear

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.****

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****Chapter 2:**

That afternoon, Jack met Gran. She had said if Jack didn't feel comfortable calling her Gran, he could just call her Flo, but he stuck with Gran. He didn't want to make trouble. He didn't think very much would happen to him though. This lady was easily five inches shorter then him and had a case of scoliosis that was so bad that she had a hump on her back.

After sitting in the living room, listening to her and Megan talk for a bit, Gran announced that she had made them a casserole for dinner and ushered them into the dining room. After his first helping, Jack desperately wanted a seconds, but wasn't sure it was okay. When Megan took a second helping, he assumed it was okay to do so as well, and braved it.

As he moved to take his piece, nothing happened. Megan and Gran just continued to talk. Jack let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and took his helping quickly, eating as fast as he could just in case they changed their minds and took it away from him.

"Jack, slow down sweetheart, there's no rush," Gran said kindly and Jack did as she said. He kept his eyes on his plate as he slowed down a bit and missed her frown. "So, Megan, you'll never believe who I ran into at the store today," she continued, her frown still lingering.

"Who Gran?" Megan asked, her voice lacking the excitement Jack was used to.

"No, don't give me that missy. I promise you you'll be happy once I tell you," Gran said, a small secretive smile playing on her face.

"Gran! It's always one of your friends' grandsons you want to set me up with. I'm only 13 for crying out loud!" Megan exclaimed. Jack could tell this was a normal occurrence from the way she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Well Megan, it's not one of my friends' grandsons this time. It's one of my friends' sons," Gran said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Bobby's home?" Megan asked. Jack wrinkled his brow. Who was Bobby? Was he going beat him up if he disobeyed his caretaker?

"Yes," Gran said.

"No! You're lying Gran!" Megan said, eyes widening.

"I swear on my life that Bobby Mercer is home from where ever it is that boy goes," Gran said, raising her right hand as if she was taking an oath. Jack just watched, his confusion growing as Megan jumped from her chair, squealing in delight as she threw her arms around her grandmother's neck. "He said he'd wait at the rink for you so you and the boys could go skating and catch up on old times," Gran added.

"Can I go now?" Megan asked impatiently. Jack bit his lip as he watched his housemates interact.

"Yes, dear, but be home by 11. Bobby knows you have a curfew, so no games," Gran said sternly.

"Sure Granny," Megan replied happily. "Hey Jack, you wanna come with? You would love the guys," she added, suddenly remembering her foster uncle.

Jack just shrugged in response. He may have talked in front of Megan, but he hadn't said a word in front of his new foster parent yet. Besides, he didn't have a response to the invitation. Part of him yelled to just stay home and hide in his room while another part, a very small one, told him it wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"You might find that you have something in common with the Mercer boys," Gran said kindly.

"Oh yeah, Ms. Mercer, Evelyn, she took in Bobby, Jer and Angel. They… they came from bad place too," Megan said hesitantly. Jack nodded, showing he knew what she meant and that it was okay for her to say. "I met them when I spent my first summer here when I was seven. They're like my brothers. I promise you'll like them. Please come with me Jack?" she pleaded. Jack looked at her and saw how she pouted her lip slightly. He couldn't bring himself to say no, so instead he sighed and nodded his head, letting the smaller, yet more stubborn side of him win the argument.

"Alright then, come on!" Megan said, excitement returning to her voice as she exited the dining room.

"Megan, Jack, don't forget a sweatshirt, it gets cold in that rink!" Gran called out after the teens.

"Sure Gran," Megan said as Jack watched her throw her bag over her shoulder and walk out of the house without so much as a glance at her sweatshirt that she had left on the living room couch earlier that day.

"Isn't she gonna be mad you're not wearing a sweatshirt?" Jack asked timidly as he untied the sweatshirt from around his waist and threw it over his head, even though it wasn't very cold yet.

"Naw, and if I get cold, I'll just steal Angel's sweatshirt. That boy's always gotta be showin' off his arms anyways. He won't miss it," Megan said with a shrug as they rushed to catch the bus that was just about to leave. Jack watched her drop a few coins into the machine to pay for their fares and then followed her to the back of the bus.

"So where do you come from?" Megan asked as she dropped her wallet back in her bag. She had asked the question earlier, but now that Jack was talking, she was going to ask it again and hope for an answer.

"Detroit. I've been around Michigan because of the system though," Jack said, staring at his feet. They didn't quite reach the ground seeing as though they had sat all the way in the back, where the seats were higher up then on the rest of the bus. "Where do you come from?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm from New York City. My mom shipped me out her for a bit to take care of Gran. Things weren't going so well in school, socially, so I took this as my new and most excellent opportunity to get out and do something new. Besides, I knew I'd be around the Mercers. Evelyn's like a mother to me. I honestly forget sometimes and call her Ma, just like the boys. She's a saint for takin' in Bobby, Jerry and Angel like that," Megan said, rambling on a bit.

"What's so wrong with Bobby, Jerry and Angel?" Jack asked curiously, enjoying her rambling for some reason.

"Well, nothing really, to me that is. But they used to be bad off. Like, I was already friends with Jerry and Bobby when Angel showed up. His dad was this horrid drunk and his mom didn't give a shit and ran away. He grew up with his dad beatin' on him and all this other bad shit before his dad just straight out died of liver failure when Angel was 10, right in front of him in the living room of their house.

"Angel was lucky. It only took him about a year to be placed with Evelyn. Took Bobby three years in the system, or so he says, and it took Jerry two years to get out," Megan went on.

"But I'm bein' as honest as I can be when I tell you these boys are total angels compared to what they could have been. They're like my older brothers and I love them. I wouldn't trade 'em for the world. They'll be good to you too if you just let them in," Megan urged. "I mean, I know I'm a girl and whatever and you might not wanna let me in, but at least trust them," she pressed.

Jack just shrugged. Trust someone? He couldn't see himself doing that. "I'll try," he said, not sure if he would or not.

"All I can ask for," Megan said as she stood up. "We're here," She said as the bus stopped and she got off with Jack following. "It's just a few more blocks this way," she said as she led the way.

The pair walked for a bit until Jack stopped dead in his tracks to face a very familiar house. Megan kept walking, not noticing that her companion had stopped walking until she asked him something and he didn't respond.

"Jack?" Megan asked worriedly as she turned around and hurried back to him. "Jack?" she asked again, stretching out a hand, not sure whether to place it on his shoulder or not. The last thing she wanted to do was scare him off.

"Jack, please," Megan said fearfully not knowing what to do. She had always been headstrong. She always knew what to do, but now it was all failing her. Her impulse to comfort Jack quickly overcame any doubts in her head and she slowly set her hand down on his shoulder. Jack gasped and winced in response. He turned to her to push her away, but she wouldn't let him.

"Jack, please, tell me what's wrong?" Megan pleaded as she moved closer to Jack, taking small steps as to not startle him.

"T-that's… I," Jack said. Megan could see him shaking in fear.

"Jack," Megan started worriedly. Jack didn't answer and instead broke down in tears.

"God, Jack," Megan said, enveloping him in a fierce hug. She felt how stiff he felt against her and for a fleeting moment, the idea of letting go raced through her brain, but she held him until he let his guard down and started to cry on her shoulder. "Sh, it's okay Jack. No one's gonna hurt you," she whispered as she held Jack as close to her as she could manage.

"No, no, he's never gonna leave me alone," Jack sobbed.

"Who?" Megan asked as Jack's crying slowed. "Who's never gonna leave you alone?"

"Him," Jack said pulling away from Megan and pointing at the house.

"Did you used to live there, Jack?" Megan asked, eyeing the house carefully. Jack just nodded in response.

"Come on Jack. We needa go to the rink to say hi to Bobby so he doesn't worry, but then we'll go home, alright?" Megan asked, hoping Jack would agree to this. She didn't want to force him into doing something he wasn't 100 percent ready for.

"No, you should see your friends," Jack said wiping away the tears.

"Nuh-uh. We're gonna go and you'll clean up in the bathroom while I hunt down the boys, then we'll go get some ice cream and go home," Megan said, throwing in the ice cream in hopes that it would cheer Jack up a bit.

"Ice cream?" Jack asked curiously.

"Yes, ice cream," Megan said with a smile as she heard the hope in his voice and saw it shining in his eyes. "We'll walk home. It's not such a long walk, but I wanted to take the bus to get here faster. We'll take a short cut, which doesn't include us coming down this street. We'll hang out with Bobby, Jer, and Angel later, deal?" she asked, feeling as though she was rationing with a little kid instead of a boy her age.

"Deal," Jack said, nodding his head slowly.

"Good, come on," Megan said as she started to walk again, but this time walking next to Jack and keeping an eye on him. When they got to the rink, he made his way over to the restrooms while she went to find the Mercer boys.

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**A/N: I'd like to thank all my readers and reviewers, especially my very first reviewer for this story, silvermoon16.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	3. Ice Cream With The Mercers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

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Chapter 3:**

It didn't take long for Megan to find her friends once they got to the rink. They were standing by the snack counter, pigging out.

"Meggy!" Bobby cried, leaving his soda on the table and running over to Megan. Once he reached her, he picked Megan up and swung her around while she squealed in delight and hung onto Bobby tightly.

"Hey girl," Jerry said as Bobby let her down. He and Angel proceeded to hug her tightly in greeting, showing they missed her just as much as the eldest Mercer had.

"So, Pixie Stick, what's doin'?" Bobby asked using one of her many nicknames.

"Well, Gran picked up a new foster kid. His name's Jack Rhode," Megan said getting straight to the point. "But he's more Ma's type of kid than Gran's," she continued, unsure how to put it. "Not so much trouble as troubled," she finished, trying to explain what she meant.

"So he fucked up in the head," Angel said simply.

"Angel Frederick Mercer, stop talking outta your ass," Megan scolded. Jerry and Bobby just sniggered.

"You two think this funny? It's not," Megan said indignantly.

"Alright baby girl," Angel said. "I was just messin'. So which Mercer is he most like?"

"Well, he's as skittish as you were Angel, but he's not angry. He's really, really sad and scared. He's like that puppy in the pound with those overlarge eyes that you just wanna hug to death and make it believe that everything's gonna be fine and people really do love you," Megan said sadly, her heart aching to help the new boy in her life.

"Ay mami, so sentimental and you just met the boy," Angel said with a small smile.

"Yeah, Meg, maybe you shouldn't be so attached. You just met him," Jerry echoed with concern.

"I know, but you'll get it when you see him," Megan said, looking towards the restrooms in an attempt to locate Jack. "So Bobby, what's you're two cents?" she asked nervously as she turned back to face the boys. Bobby's opinion meant a lot to her and she valued any advice he gave her.

"Who's to say I have any cents?" Bobby retorted

"Man, you always have cents," Jerry said shaking his head.

"Yeah, spit it out," Angel added nodding his head in agreement.

"Fine, gang up on me why donchya?" Bobby said in annoyance.

"We just did," Megan shot back expectantly.

"Well, I dunno, I suppose we'll just have to meet the kid," Bobby said with a shrug. "Where is he?"

"Good question," Megan said as she looked around again. The rink was pretty empty tonight, which was odd seeing as though school was out and no one really had anything better to do at night.

"There's a party down on Fenon tonight," Bobby said, satiating Megan's unvoiced curiosity.

"And you're not there?" Megan asked distractedly as she continued to look for her companion.

"Nope, I needed to come see my girl," Bobby said with a shrug.

"Aw, Bobby, how sweet. Pass up beer for me?" Megan said, her eyes still scouring the crowd for Jack.

"Why didn't he come in with you?" Jerry asked curiously, ignoring all friendly banter that passed between Bobby and Megan.

"Well, um, we sorta walked by his old foster dad's place and he broke down," Megan said sheepishly, turning to the boys again. "He looked a mess and so I sent him to clean up. I also told him we would ditch you guys, get ice cream and walk home," she added, biting her lower lip anxiously.

"Can we get ice cream too?" Bobby asked, cutting off his brothers' cries of protest. Megan smiled gratefully. She knew he would understand and agree with what she was doing. Bobby just winked in response, noting her gratitude.

"Oh! There he is," Megan said as she looked over her shoulder, spotted Jack and rushed over to him. Moments later she returned with Jack following her, his hand in hers due to her fear of losing him, even though there were less people in the rink then usual.

Megan knew the boys were giving Jack the once over and hoped that it didn't freak him out too badly. Knowing how one of her friends from back home who came to visit earlier in the summer took the visual inspection, she held onto his hand tighter, not wanting him to run. As the unspoken meeting occurred, she felt his glance move from her to their joined hands and, finally, to the Mercer boys.

"Um, so, Jack, this is Bobby, Jeremiah and Angel Mercer. Guys, this is Jack Rhode," Megan said as she pointed out each brother. Jack simply nodded, not saying anything that could potentially piss any of the brothers off, especially Bobby.

"Hey," Jack whispered as he took his hand from Megan's and waved slightly.

"Hey Jack," Jerry said kindly. Angel nodded and Bobby mimicked his little brother.

"Jack, Meg tells us you guys are gonna skip the rink and go for some ice cream. We were wondering if we could come with," Bobby asked kindly. Megan bit her lower lip and rocked back and forth as Jack took his time responding. She was pretty sure he wouldn't object, but she was pleased with the fact that Bobby was being so nice. She was so happy that her surrogate brother was being so nice that she couldn't help but bounce up and down. Angel and Jerry saw this and smiled at her. She winked at them as Jack slowly nodded his head yes.

"Well then, what're we waiting for?" Jerry asked as he led the way. Megan smiled brightly as Bobby came from behind her, scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"BOBBY!" Megan yelped loudly through laughter as she pounded on Bobby's back in protest.

"Yes darlin'?" Bobby asked innocently as Angel and Jerry laughed at their brother's antics. Jack smiled softly, hanging back a bit even though everything in him wanted to be apart of this. This looked like fun. It reminded him of that house he had stopped at earlier that night. Whenever he could, he would sneak away and sit on the front porch, watching as small groups of friends walked by, running around and playing. He'd always wanted to be apart of that. In fact, one day he was invited to play by a small girl but that quickly ended.

_Flashback_

_A seven-year-old Jack sat on the steps to his front porch, hoping his father wouldn't call for him. He watched as a two small girls, one a few years older then the other, came out of the house next door and started to draw an oversized hopscotch board on the sidewalk in front of his house. It didn't take long for the girls to notice him and ask him if he wanted to play. He wasn't so sure at first but, after looking back at his house and seeing it was quite, he decided it would be okay if he played for a bit._

"_Alright," Jack said hesitantly as he walked over to the two small girls. One of them was a blonde and the other, the older one, was a brunette._

"_You go first," the blonde insisted holding out the stone for Jack. He looked at the unusually pretty stone curiously, not knowing what he should be doing with it._

"_Silly! How do you not know how to play hopscotch?" the brunette scoffed._

"_Chloe!" the blonde reprimanded as Jack hung his head in shame._

"_Sorry," Chloe whispered. Jack just nodded his head and looked to the still unnamed blonde for directions._

"_What ya havta do is throw the stone at one of the boxes. When there's one box in a row, you put down one foot, but then when there're two boxes, you put down both feet, one in each box. But then, whatever box that has the stone in it, you gotta skip it," the blonde said. Jack looked at her, still slightly confused. "Here, I'll go first," the blonde said kindly as he handed her the stone. She threw it and quickly went through the hopscotch board._

"_I think I get it," Jack whispered as he picked up the rock from its box and tossed it. He managed to get through with only messing up twice and the two girls cheered, Chloe quickly forgetting her sour disposition towards her new friend._

_The trio played for almost three hours until a loud noise came from Jack's house and the two small girls shrieked in fear. Jack nearly did as well. He was having so much fun that he almost forgot how much pain was inflicted on him everyday. _

"_Jack, what's that?" Skye asked fearfully. The two girls had gotten to know Jack a lot better over the hours they had played together and names were exchanged not long after Chloe had thrown her first stone._

"_You guys better go home," Jack said in an unsteady voice._

"_Jack, come with us," Chloe said tugging on his sleeve frantically._

"_Chloe's mommy has milk and cookies waiting!" Skye offered, figuring no one could turn down milk and cookies._

"_No, I gotta go home," Jack whispered. "Go, 'kay?" he pleaded, not wanting the two girls to get hurt._

"_Alright, but promise we'll play together soon?" Skye asked dolefully as another noise came from Jack's house. Jack could tell she knew just as well as he did that she would probably never see him again, but he knew why she was asking anyways._

"_I promise," Jack said. Chloe and Skye hugged him tightly._

"_Jack, keep the stone. It was my sister's before she gave it to me and I don't really like it," Skye said handing him the thin, silver-colored chip they had been using. It had a hole at the top of it, clearly meant for a chain and was slightly scratched from being thrown around. "Just in case you ever needa stone to play hopscotch and you don't got nothin' else," she added._

"_Hurry!" Jack said after hearing a third boom coming from his house. He hugged Skye again and pushed her after Chloe, who had already started walking across the street, towards their safe haven. Jack ran back into his house, praying his father hadn't noticed he was gone yet._

"_I saw ya out dere Jackie, with dose girls. You tink you're so smart goin' out like dat when I'm sleepin'," Jack's father slurred as Jack closed the front door behind him. "Well don't cha ever tink about doin' dat ever again Jackie, because no matter how hard I beat ya dis time, it's gonna hurt a lot more next time!" Jack's father said, pulling him close enough so that him could smell his putrid breath. _

_Just before the first blow fell, Jack's gazed landed on the window to see Skye and Chloe's faces pressed against the window, trying to see what was happening. Why couldn't they just leave like he told them to? He bit his lip and turned from them, trying to keep the attention on him and off the window, so the girls wouldn't get the same beating he was about to get._

_Jack shut his eyes and waited for the first smack. It landed right across his cheek, where it normally does. He could almost hear Chloe and Skye gasp in horror. Thankfully, he kept his eyes shut until the beating was over so he wouldn't look over at the girls and feel more miserable about his situation than usual._

_When his father left the room to go back to his room and drink himself into oblivion again, Jack took stock of his injuries. His shirt was ripped and he had tons of gashes all along his small torso. When he felt his head, he could feel blood matting down his long hair where his father had hit him with his belt buckle. He also felt scratches where his father had hit him across the face. His neck had finger print-bruises from where his father had held him while administering the beating, nearly cutting off his air-supply and killing him. All in all, this beating wasn't as bad as the others._

_Jack's attention was only taken from his injuries when he heard a soft knock on the door. He inched over the door to open it and see Chloe and Skye standing there with tears in their eyes. "Go home, please," he rasped. "Don't say anything. He'll just hurt you too," he added painfully as his throat began to hurt even more from talking._

"_Jack!" the two girls exclaimed quietly as they hugged him gently. "Please come with us," Chloe said as he brown hair fell into her face, obscuring the fear that filled her eyes._

"_No, I understand, we gotsta go. Come on Chloe," Skye said tugging at Chloe. Chloe gave Jack one more hug before running from the house in fear. "I'll save you Jack, I promise," Skye whispered when she hugged her friend, and before he could protest, the two small girls were gone._

_End Flashback_

Jack snapped out of it after realizing he'd walked the entire way to the ice cream parlor spacing out the way he had. The others must not have noticed since they were so busy playing around. After that day, Jack never left the house unless his father told him to. Nor had he seen Chloe or Skye again, but he knew that if he were to see them again, he would recognize them.

"So Jackie, what flavor do you like?" Megan asked kindly as they stood in line for ice cream.

"Never really had ice cream," Jack muttered.

"No ice cream?" Angel exclaimed in shock, nearly fainting. Jerry clucked his tongue and slapped Angel on the stomach with the back of his hand. "OUCH!" Angel yelled. "I better be gettin' double now," Angel grumbled as he set his hand on his stomach and Jerry just shook his head.

"No," Jack said shaking his head, almost shamefully.

"Well, that's alright then, we'll just get him some vanilla to start out with," Bobby said as he shoved both of his brothers. "I never had this stuff when I was little neither. Never saw the point of makin' myself fat with all that sugar," Bobby said throwing Angel a look.

"What? You callin' me fat Bobby?" Angel asked angrily.

"Alright boys, that's enough, no fighting during my shift," the elderly woman behind the counter said mischievously.

"Franny!" the boys cheered as hey saw their favorite employee behind the counter. Megan shook her head, smiling at Franny. Franny just smiled back. She was one of the very few people in Detroit who saw the good in the Mercer boys.

"Well, hello Bobby," Franny said after giving both Angel and Jerry their ice cream. "It's good to see you 'round these parts."

"It's good to see you too Franny," Bobby said.

"You're usual?" Franny asked.

"When have I ever asked for anything else?" Bobby responded. Franny just laughed as she handed him a cone of vanilla covered with chocolate chips, complete with a bowl to catch any dripping ice cream, which secretly held extra chocolate chips for him to share with his brothers.

Bobby smiled and winked at Franny as he handed her his money and walked to sit down with his brothers. He watched as Megan introduced Jack to Franny. The still-skittish boy responded timidly, just as Megan and Angel had, only four years earlier.

Bobby shook his head as he watched Jack. He was surprised Jack was taking so well to Megan, and even to him and his brothers. He expected Jack to act just as jumpy and scared around them as he was with everyone else in the store. He expected Jack to break down and run. Little did everyone know, that's exactly how he reacted when he got to Ma's house. He would never admit it, because it would ruin his tough guy image, but that was the truth. He just hoped Megan could eventually help Jack get out of his funk.

When Megan and Jack moved to join the Mercer brothers, Bobby threw those thoughts from his head, just aiming on having a good time and showing Jack what it was like to not have to worry. By the end of the night, Jack was talking more and had actually thrown a few chocolate chips at Angel, mimicking what Bobby had done earlier on in the night when Angel had said something stupid. All in all, Bobby was impressed and told Megan so on their walk home.

"Hey Pixie, I think you might not break your back helpin' this one," Bobby said as Jack walked with Jerry and Angel, the three horsing around a bit.

"I know," Megan said, her eyes over-bright with hope.

"You have to talk to him about his demons. Just remember not to push too hard," Bobby cautioned.

"I'm always careful," Megan said seriously. "Don't worry. I have your cell number and you have mine. You're the first person I'd call if I needed help."

"I've taught you well," Bobby said as they reached Megan's house. "Would you look at that, 10:50. I got you home early, Cinderella. Now I won't have to see you dressed in rags," he teased.

"I like looking like a princess, not a pauper," Megan said as she hugged Bobby tightly. "I've missed you. Don't leave again, huh? I'm here to stay for a bit, so why don't you return the favor?" she whispered.

"I'll try," Bobby said as he let go of Megan so she could give Jerry and Angel their goodnight hugs as well. Jack stood off the side waiting for his housemate, choosing simply to wave goodbye to Bobby. Bobby waved back and waited for Jack and Megan to get inside the house before shepherding his brothers home.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I brought you the Mercers. I hope you liked how I portrayed them. I know that I made Bobby really nice, but that's because I think he would be in that kind of setting, but I just hope you guys don't totally hate it. I'll try and show his tough guy attitude later, but as I said, I think he'd be nice to Jack in that situation, especially for Megan.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	4. Old Pain and New Hope

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 4:**

A week after their outing on a hot, lazy Sunday morning, Megan lay in her bed, thinking about everything. She had her time alone with the Mercer boys soon after the night at the skating rink because Gran had wanted to take Jack out and get to know him, one-on-one. Thankfully, Gran had called her before dragging Jack to the mall so that she, Bobby, Jerry and Angel could intercept and save Jack the pain of having an old lady pick out his clothing. Sure, they all loved Gran, but she didn't have the same sense of style that Evelyn had.

Then, a few days after the shopping outing, the boys pulled Jack aside, giving Megan time to call all her friends back home. Bobby, Jerry and Angel taught him how to defend himself from bullies. It was only later, when Megan found out, that she made Jack swear never to resort to that unless it was absolutely necessary. He quickly complied, mostly because he didn't want to upset her. It was clear to Megan that Jack was still scared that she might beat the crap out of him when he was least expecting it. Megan sighed. She wished she could help him. She wished she could do something for him, but there wasn't very much anyone could do other then sit around and wait for him to talk. You couldn't exactly force something like that out of anyone.

Bobby had sure tried though. Megan knew he was told a little but wouldn't tell anyone what he had heard. He said Jack was in a whole different league then the rest and we had to wait and deal with it only when Jack was ready to. Megan only hoped and prayed that Bobby was overreacting, and Jack's problems weren't as intense as Bobby thought them to be. But either way, she braced herself for the worst to come out at any time.

Megan yawned and climbed out of her over-sized bed. She quickly made the bed and picked up the towel she had left by her door last night. Before heading into the bathroom, she checked Jack's room. After seeing that it was deserted, she knocked on the bathroom door only to get no response. Megan shrugged and went in, to find Jack sitting on the floor with tears coursing down his face and blood running down his arm.

"Jack!" Megan cried, dropping her towel automatically pulling a first aid kit out from the cabinet under the sink. "Sweetie, what happen?" she asked as she moved to roll up his sleeve, but Jack pulled away, hiding his arm from her.

"Jack, please, let me help," Megan begged, her eyes beginning to water.

"No," Jack rasped.

"Why not?" Megan asked as her eyes zeroed in on the garbage can and saw one of her disposable razors all bloodied and half hidden under another piece of trash. "God, Jack. Why didn't you come to me?" she asked, at a loss for words.

"You're always busy. I didn't want to bug you," Jack started. Megan stared at him in disbelief for what felt like an eternity before he started talking again, trying to explain. "I came here and there was no new pain, only the old pain, haunting me where ever I went. So I made new pain so make the old go away," he said innocently. Megan's tears spilled over. It was clear to her that Jack didn't know that what he was doing was bad.

"Jack, oh Jackie. This isn't okay. You can't do this to yourself," Megan whispered. "Please let me see," she pleaded.

"No," Jack said indignantly. For someone who didn't know he was doing something bad, he sure was insistent that no one see it, Megan thought as she let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Jack, please, please just let me see. Let me see everything. Let me see what that monster did to you so I can help you get better," Megan coaxed. She hoped Jack would comply.

"I can't," Jack whispered, "He'll come and hurt me."

"No," Megan said roughly, pushing back the onslaught of fresh tears, "He'll never hurt you again. If he even so much as looks at you ever again I'll kill him," she swore. She saw the uncertainty in Jack eyes. "Jack, you're my friend. I would never hurt you and I would do anything to help you. The same goes with Bobby, Jerry and Angel. They know where you come from and they don't like seeing you hurt like this. Please let us help," Megan asked again.

Jack nodded as she slowly pulled off his bloodied nightshirt to reveal a myriad of bruises, scars, and cuts, the ones on his biceps still bleeding as they had just been made. "Jesus fucking Christ," Megan swore. "God, that's why you wouldn't let me see the scratch Bree left on you your first day. Hell, Bree didn't' even scratch you, did she?" she asked as she looked at his shoulder, to see sickly yellow-green bruises instead of faded claw marks. A few bruises were still purple and blue, lingering from his last beating before being moved to Megan and Gran's house.

"No," Jack murmured. Megan just shook her head and took out the first aid kid, cleaning off his self-inflicted cuts and putting band-aids over the worst of them. She then looked at some of the nastier old cuts to see what she could do for him. Megan didn't seem to be too disturbed by what she saw until she reached the burn on the small of his back. She touched it gently with cool fingers and in response he hissed in pain. It didn't become a blister, it just turned into a large, angry scab.

"Poor baby," Megan whispered as she took a small towel from the rack and soaked it in cold water to cover the scab with, trying to cool the never ending burn that plagued Jack. "There's some scar reduction stuff in here I'm gonna try on you. The rest, well it's a little late to ice this shit, but if you want ice or something, I could go get," Megan offered. Jack just shook his head as Megan gently applied the cream, arching his back as she worked, trying to ease the pain that he felt.

Once Megan was finished, she asked, "Are there anymore?" Jack nodded and stripped down to his boxers showing the marks on his legs. They weren't as bad as his torso, but they still made her gasp loudly. "Jack," was all she managed to say as she carefully and gently did all she could for her new friend's battered legs.

When she was all finished she face Jack and held his blue-green eyes with her own brown ones. "Jack, I'm telling you right now, there's not going to be anymore pain because I'm gonna help you get rid of it. Or at least get past it. And you wanna know why?" Megan asked. Jack nodded slowly, figuring it was the correct response. "Because you're too good for this. Because all you deserve is love and care, not pain and suffering. Because this bastard thought that he was right for doing this to you, but really he couldn't have been anymore wrong. You don't need to make new pain to make the old pain go away.

"People do love and care about you, like me, Gran, Bobby, Jerry and Angel. Hell, Bobby's told Evelyn all about you and she loves you even though she doesn't even know you yet. You have so many people who care about you now, so you don't need pain. You just have to let us in and once you do, we're going to fix you, Jack," Megan said pointedly.

"What if it's too late to fix me?" Jack asked woefully, his eyes wide with vulnerability.

"It's never too late to get yourself fixed, Jack," Megan said shaking her head. "You might find yourself fixing yourself as you get older, changing yourself for better of for worse. But now, you need to learn how to do that, and we can teach you," she finished, trying to show her love and care for him through her words and her eyes.

"Thank you," Jack said after a few moments of hesitation.

"So no more of this cutting?" Megan asked, praying he would agree.

"No more," Jack said nodding his head.

"Good," she said as she stood up. Jack stood up as well and allowed Megan to give him a hug. She took care to not hit any of his cuts and bruises, as she knew where they were after cleaning him up not five minutes before.

"Jack, go get dressed. I'll clean up in here and Gran will never know anything happened," Megan said as she wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"You mean you're not tellin'?" Jack asked incredulously.

"What made you think I would?" Megan asked as she threw the garbage into the little can and pulled the small plastic bag out of the can so she could hide it in one of the bigger black bags that would be taken away later in the day.

"I dunno," Jack said with a slight shrug.

"Well, I had no plans of it," Megan said as she made to leave the bathroom to toss the offensive object she was still holding. "I'm no tattle tale," she said patting Jack lightly on his bare chest as she passed by him.

Megan heard Jack go into his room to get dressed as she quickly made her way down stairs. She rushed outside and untied the black bag that was sitting on the curb, waiting to be taken away. She stowed her and Jack's addition into the black bag and retied it, running back into the house without anyone seeing her.

Megan walked back into the now empty third floor bathroom and turned on the water. As she stepped in the shower, all she could hope was that the rest of the day wouldn't be as dramatic as the morning had been.

* * *

**A/N: Poor Jack…**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	5. The Night Before

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

****Chapter 5:**

Megan was curled up on her favorite armchair in the living room with a bowl of popcorn cradled in her lap as she watched a movie the night before she was to go off to school. As the movie ended, Gran walked into the room and sat patiently, waiting for the credits to role so she could chat with her granddaughter.

"Megan," Gran started when Megan flicked off the television, munching on what was left of the popcorn.

"Yeah Gran?" Megan asked as she popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

"I'm worried about Jack," Gran started.

"Why?" Megan asked, prompting her grandmother along.

"I'm not sure how much I'm helping him. I see him go out with you and the Mercers and I keep thinking, maybe I'm not the right guardian for him," Gran said, her voice filled with insecurity.

"Granny, I'll be honest with you. You're a grandmother, plain and simple. You're the little ol' lady we go to for some cash and to talk to about things we can't tell out parents. I mean, that's not a bad thing, but you're past your parenting time. It's okay though. It's enough that Jack knows that you care about him. That's more then any of his old foster homes can say, ya know? I feel like, so long as we're caring about him and leaving the door open for him to talk, then that's all we really can do. It's okay that you're not so involved, because I am. When you're not looking, I've got both eyes on him. He knows that and he's happy with that much. He's so simple. All he really needs is someone to cling to, someone to lean on," Megan said with a shrug.

"I know, but what if what we have to offer him isn't enough?" Gran asked.

"Well, it's better then what he had before, right?" Megan answered with another question.

"Yes," Gran said with a sigh. "I just want to do more."

"Gran, no one likes an overachiever," Megan said. A smile appeared on the teen's face when she saw Gran's face become less serious at her last comment. "I'm gonna head to bed. Don't worry about Jack so much, but if you're going to, I suggest talking it over with Evelyn. She knows how to handle trouble kids," she added as she rose from her chair, seeing as her grandmother's fears were allayed for now. Before heading upstairs, she walked over to her grandmother and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Night Meggy," Gran said with a smile.

"Night Gran," Megan said, returning the smile before turning around and running up the stairs. When she got to the third floor, she made a sharp left and walked towards Jack's room. It was only after knocking lightly and hearing his positive response did she walk into the bedroom.

"Hey," Jack muttered as he stuffed his new notebooks into his new backpack.

"Looks like you're ready for tomorrow, huh?" Megan asked as she sat down on the edge of Jack's bed.

"Yah," Jack said as he zipped up the bag and dropped it on his desk chair. "I'm not so excited though," he confided.

"And why not?" Megan asked curiously.

"I don't know anyone 'cept you. What if I'm not in any of your classes or if they all hate me?" Jack said as he fiddled with the leather cord around his neck.

"Jack, no one's gonna hate you unless you give them reason to. Maybe you should try and be a little more outgoing then usual," Megan said hopefully.

"I don't think so," Jack murmured.

"Well, I know this much, all of 8th grade has lunch together after the morning orientation and shit. If we're not in the same group for the orientation, then come lunch time, you find me and I'll introduce to you everyone I've met and you'll do the same for me," Megan bargained.

"I guess," Jack said with a shrug.

"Good, well, I'm gonna wash up and go to sleep," Megan said as she slipped off Jack's bed. She gave him a quick hug goodnight before ducking out of his room, leaving his door open a bit.

Megan walked into the bathroom and washed up as quickly as she could. As she was about to enter her room, she looked over at Jack's to watch his light flick off. She smiled and walked into her room, deciding to leave her door open just as she had left Jack's open, just in case. Megan crawled into bed, facing away from the door, not used to the exposed feeling the open door gave her.

* * *

Jack woke up to someone nudging his side. "Mmhm, wha's goin' on?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Jack, moved over," Megan said in small voice.

"Meg, wha' happened?" Jack asked rolling over to face Megan, fear filling his face.

"I had a bad dream," Megan muttered shyly.

"Shit, that's it girl? You scared me," Jack said as he opened his arms so that Megan could cuddle up to him. "You wanna tell me about it?" he asked once they were settled.

"One sec," Megan said as she got up and turned the air up to full blast. "I don't know how you're sleepin' like this," Megan muttered as she ripped back the black duvet and the blue and white striped flannel sheets so that she could curl up under them. She motioned for Jack to get under them as well, allowing him to pull her close to him again.

"I had a nightmare… that… well, I was passing by the Mercer house, but I was so much older. I didn't see myself, just other people, but I knew I was a lot older. Anyway, I was passing by the Mercer house, but something's wrong. All the windows were shattered and the door was wide open. So I walked into the house and I call out for Evelyn, then Bobby, then Jerry and finally Angel. I get nothing. I walked into the kitchen and I saw Evelyn. She… she was, God, she was lying on the floor with a two gunshots in her chest and blood all over the place. Then I move to go upstairs but instead, I hear Bobby yelling for help outside. I rush to go see what's happening but for some reason, the windows aren't shattered anymore and I couldn't get outside. All I could see were Bobby, Jerry and Angel, kneeling over a body.

"I couldn't see whose body it was, but from all the blood in the snow, I knew he was dying. Bobby yelled out again but I couldn't make out what he was saying. Finally I manage to get the door open but once I get outside, Bobby, Jerry and Angel are gone. Like they vanished. All that was left was a corpse. I walked slowly up to the body but he didn't have a face. Then suddenly Bobby came up behind me. He looked so old and haggard. He yelled at me, screaming, saying it was my fault and that I should have been there. He said he hated me for leaving them when they needed me most. Then I woke up," Megan finished, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Jeeze, May, where did that dream come from? Too much candy before bed?" Jack asked curiously as he squeezed her tightly around the waist, hoping to make her feel better.

"I dunno. All I know is that it scared the crap outta me," Megan said in an unsettled manner.

"Then maybe you should remember never to leave," Jack murmured as his eyelids began to droop.

"Uhuh," Megan said as her breathing began to even out. Jack smiled lazily, knowing her eyelids were starting to get heavy as well.

"Go to bed May. I'll keep you safe tonight," Jack said as he felt Megan pulled her arms closer to her body so that her elbows were pointed towards the end of the bed and her hands were clinging to Jack arms.

"Thanks Jackie," Megan mumbled. Jack waited a few moments before letting out a sigh of relief, shutting his eyes and waiting for sleep to come. It wouldn't. Instead, he lay there for a bit, thinking about Megan's dream. After his eyes flit over to his clock to see it was now 2 in the morning, he decided not to dwell on it and go back to sleep. Jack shut his eyes again and focused on the lulling sound of the air conditioner. Maybe it was a better idea to sleep with the air one, he thought as he finally fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Mmm… sorry it's so short.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	6. A Familiar Face

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

****Chapter 6:**

The next morning when Jack woke up, Megan was gone. He shrugged it off easily, assuming that his bedmate from the previous night had woken up and gotten to the shower on the third floor before him for the first time that week.

Jack grabbed the towel that had been left for him off his desk and walked out of his room to catch Megan walk out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. Her hair was still damp and hanging down her back, already beginning to curl as it dried.

"Hey Jack," Megan said sheepishly as she realized she was no longer alone in the hallway.

"Hey," Jack responded.

"I just… well, thanks for last night," Megan said, holding up her towel, not from necessity, but from nervousness.

"Anytime," Jack said honestly.

"Either way," Megan said with a quick smile as she turned and scampered off to her room. Jack shook his head and went into the bathroom. He dropped his towel on the sink counter and stripped his clothing quickly so he could get in and out of the shower, have plenty of time to get dressed, grab his bag and get some breakfast before rushing off to school.

As Jack exited the bathroom, he saw Megan rush down the stairs in order to get a decent amount of food before he could get to the kitchen and eat it all. He might have been skittish when it came to food on his first days in the house but now he was more than prepared to take all that he could, never sure if he would be allowed more or when it would all be ripped away. This was why he hid his more important possessions in different places in the house. He kept his toiletries in different desk drawers, while his favorite shirt was tucked under his mattress and the picture frame Megan had given him as a settling in present with a picture of her, Jack, Bobby, Jerry and Angel in it was there as well.

Jack pulled out his favorite shirt from where he stowed it, careful not to jostle the picture frame that had the words "Remember When…" engraved on the bottom. He slid on his shirt and a new pair of jeans quickly before shoving his feet in the white slide-on Vans that he and Megan had splatter-painted two days earlier.

When he was fully dressed and sure he wasn't missing anything, Jack grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, which no longer hurt. Megan had insisted on checking his torso and legs everyday until all the bruises had faded and all that was left were the bigger scars and the burn on his lower back, which were fading with the help of cold water and scar-guard.

Jack bounded down the stairs and joined Megan and Gran at the small kitchen table, as only formal meals were to be eaten in the dining room. "You two ready for your first day?" Gran asked.

"Yeah," Megan and Jack said together as they continued to eat, hardly acknowledging each other.

"Well, I'm expecting you both home right after school unless I get a phone call from one of you," Gran warned as Megan picked up her plate and set it down in the sink. Jack noticed Megan nod as he pulled out his new mobile phone and then stuffed it back in his pocket just to show he had it. Gran had insisted on buying him one the week before, seeing as though he was apart of this family now and he couldn't always rely on Megan to keep in touch.

Once Jack had finished eating, he also placed his plate in the sink and followed Megan, who had been patiently waiting for him, out the door. The pair walked to school talking about what they thought it would be like and what they hoped it wouldn't be like.

"Mmm, so long as we make some good friends it should be okay, right?" Megan pointed out.

"Yeah," Jack said, knowing that Megan wasn't obsessed with making new friends. She just wanted him to meet new people and have other people to talk to aside from her. "But you'll always be my favorite," he added teasingly.

"Aw, and you'll always be my favorite, Jackie," Megan said with a giggle.

"Why thank you," Jack replied with an uncharacteristically silly smile on his face. He listened to Megan talk for a bit about her hopes and dreams for this new school as he spaced out for a bit. He kept asking himself when he became so close and comfortable with this girl. He had known her for scarcely a month. Not that a month wasn't an impressively long amount of time for him to stay with one foster home. He had been moving to a new foster home every week for the better part of four years and he could only see himself as lucky that he was staying with the Grants for so long. He was on his best behavior and everything, just so he could stay and be around the one person who he could honestly call is friend. Sure he was friendly with Bobby, Jerry and Angel, but Megan was the one he had began to confide in. She was the one who had seen his past sufferings from the markings on his body.

"Jack?" Megan asked, pulling Jack from his thoughts.

"Mm?" Jack asked.

"We're here," Megan said pointing at a slightly intimidating building that many kids, who were older then her and Jack, were flooding into.

"Welcome to junior high," Jack said walking towards the building with Megan in tow, only stopping when a football nearly smacked him in the face.

"Woah, sorry 'bout that," a familiar voice said.

"Angel?" Megan asked in surprise.

"Meggy! Jack!" Angel said in surprise, letting one of the other people he was playing with pick up the ball. "What grade you two in?" he asked.

"8th," Jack said simply, still not totally comfortable around the older boy.

"Oh man, 8th grade. Be careful. You guys are the youngest around here ever since they decided to take in more kids and had to move seventh grade back to the elementary school. I'm in 10th grade and Jerry's in 12th. If any one give you guys any trouble you just let us know. Either that or drop the Mercer name. Those pussies're scared of us 'round here ever since one of those punks messed with me a few years back and Bobby and Jerry took care of it," Angel said with a wink.

"Thank Angel," Megan said, giving him a tight hug and a peck on the cheek.

"A little sugar in the mornin'?" Angel teased.

"Always Angel," Megan said with a giggle as Jack just rolled his eyes. "C'mon Jack," she said as Angel headed back to his friends. Jack allowed the insistent girl to grab his hand and pull him along as they walked towards the building. "Let's go see what rooms we're in," she suggested.

Jack could hear both the excitement and nervous tension that filled Megan's voice and, in response, he squeezed her hand to try and downsize her overload of feelings. As she realized what he was trying to do, she turned to him and smiled gratefully, causing him to smile as well as she returned the gesture.

Jack let Megan drag him the rest of the way into the building. She pulled him to the bulletin board with many students were standing, trying to find their names and what room they would have orientation in that morning.

"I'm in room 104," Jack said as he read off the room number next to his name.

"Cripes, I'm in the cafeteria," Megan swore after finding her name.

"So we'll meet up during lunch?" Jack reminded Megan, hoping she hadn't forgotten her promise already.

"Oh yeah, for sure," Megan said nodding her head vigorously in agreement. "Find me, I'll be waiting."

"Good, see you there," Jack said, impulsively leaning in to Megan a big hug. She returned the gesture and squeezed back tightly.

"See you in a few hours Jackie," Megan said as she pulled away and set off to find the cafeteria, leaving Jack all on his own.

Jack made his way away from the crowd and started to walk. He had a bit of time before the bell rang and finding his room in this mess would probably take a little while. The seconds ticked by as Jack passed rooms with different numbers on them, but never did the numbers 104 flash in front of his eyes. Jack sighed in annoyance as he looked around to see if there was a somewhat friendly face nearby to ask for directions.

Giving up, Jack tapped a blonde haired girl who looked vaguely familiar on the shoulder. "Yes?" the girl asked as she turned to face him. She gave him a curious look, as if she knew him too but couldn't place him either.

"Uh, well, I'm lookin' for room 104 but I can't seem to find it," Jack said shyly, blushing a bit while being scrutinized by this girl.

"It's in the library," the girl said simply, pointing down the hall. "Do I know you?" The girl asked just as Jack was about to walk off.

"I doubt it," Jack said shaking his head. "Thanks anyways," he added gratefully.

"My name's Skye," the girl called out as Jack walked in the direction she pointed in. He nearly froze when he heard the name, but he managed to keep walking. The memory came flooding back to him just as it had earlier in the summer. He couldn't bring himself to go back and face her, to tell her his name and explain how he was the little boy she and her friend, Chloe, had played hopscotch with all those years ago. Instead, he shook the memory out of his head as he entered the library and found room 104. He quickly entered the classroom and picked a seat towards the front of the room next to a boy with messy brown hair. There was no better time then the present to make friends and Megan wouldn't be pleased if he didn't even try.

"Hey," Jack said in a small voice.

"Hey," the brown haired boy said back with a small smile. "I'm Lawrence Fox," the boy said. Jack nearly laughed as he heard the regret in the boy's voice.

"I'm Jack Rhode," Jack said, a smile playing at his lips.

"Go ahead and laugh at my name," Lawrence said with a frown plastered on his face. "You won't be the first person to do it."

"No!" Jack exclaimed, all laughter fading. He didn't want to anger Lawrence. "I was just laughing because of the way you said it," he assured.

"You promise?" Lawrence asked.

"Yes, I promise," Jack said simply. This boy seemed just as nervous and insecure as he did and, for some reason, that made him want to double his efforts to be friendly.

"Well then, sorry, I guess," Lawrence said, holding out a hand for Jack to shake as a truce.

"No problem," Jack said, grasping Lawrence's hand and shaking it.

"It's just that I've never had many friends because no one's been able to get over the fact that my name is Lawrence," he said.

"Well, they suck," Jack said simply, causing Lawrence to laugh in surprise of his reaction. "Either way, you're last name is pretty cool, why don't you just go by that?" Jack asked.

"I dunno," Lawrence said shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, Fox, nice to meet you. Should be fun in the new school and all," Jack said after a few minutes of thinking about it. He had formed the sentence in his head immediately after getting used to similar conversation with Megan that summer and was thankful that he was brave enough to try it out on a stranger.

"Yeah, a new school and all," Fox echoed with a small smile on his face.

* * *

Jack and Fox walked towards the lunchroom after orientation with two other boys following them: Matt Dane and Lysander Echo. As it turned out, Fox had become a lot more talkative after Jack had done away with the name he loathed so much while Jack, after making with Fox, which had boosted his confidence, ventured out and assisted Fox in making new friends.

"So, are you guys friends with anyone else 'round here?" Sander asked. He had just moved to Detroit with his family. According to Sander, they had moved from Africa when he was a toddler and since they had been moving around the States, complying with his dad's job transfers.

Jack smiled as he heard Sander's question and Matt and Fox replied in the negative. "I do," Jack said, surprising the other three boys.

"Yeh?" Matt asked curiously.

"Megan Steel," Jack said simply, not about to elaborate when it wasn't asked of him. "She just moved in with her Gran this summer."

"How do you know her?" Fox asked as Jack watched him fixed his glasses so they sat on his nose properly once again.

"Uh, I kinda live with her," Jack said sheepishly, wishing he hadn't mentioned her at all. He sighed inwardly with relief when Matt, Fox and Sander decided against pursuing that line of questioning and changed the topic to the latest video game that he and Megan had learned to play only the week before.

* * *

Megan stood in the lunchroom, fiddling with the ring on her right ring finger. Bobby had bought it for her the summer before and it was her nervous habit. She had made a few new acquaintances but she was worried about Jack. She knew he had it in him to make new friends, but she wasn't quite sure if he would follow through.

"Megan!" a voice exclaimed, bringing Megan back into focus.

"What's up Anna?" Megan asked, shaking her head a bit.

"You were spacing out," Anna said kindly as the others looked at concern. Her new friends consisted of two boys and a girl; Liam, Seth, Anna.

"Sorry, I'm just worried about my friend, Jack," Megan replied with a small smile.

"Well, do you see him?" Seth asked. With that, Megan looked over her shoulder, just in time to see Jack walk in with three other boys.

"Yep, but I guess my worries were unfounded because he's got three other boys with him," Megan said as she turned to face Liam, Anna and Seth again, biting her lower lip, not sure of what to think. Was she disappointed because now she didn't have Jack to herself or was she happy that Jack was actually able to function without having to lean on her all the time? She couldn't begin to describe the war that was going on in her head.

Megan looked over her shoulder once more, just in time to see Jack approach a blonde-haired girl and say something to her, only for her to respond by giving him a hug. It was official, Megan was jealous and she wanted answers.

"Meg?" Anna asked.

"Yes?" Megan asked quietly. She knew Anna was smart and she would easily catch on, unlike Seth and Liam. Not that it was bad that they weren't catching on, they just weren't.

"Which one is Jack?" Anna asked. Megan glanced in Jack's direction. From where Anna was, she had a pretty perfect view of the boy in question.

"Uh, he's got long light brown hair that kinda sticks up and he's about my height. Last I saw he was hugging some blond girl," Megan said, trying to keep the spite out of her voice.

"Oh," Anna said nodding as she figured out which one Jack was just before another influx of kids came in for lunch.

"How do you know him?" Liam asked.

"He lives with me and my Gran," Megan said as she took a bite from the bagel and cream cheese that sat on her tray.

"Why?" Seth asked simply as he reached across his tray to his twin's to steal a chip. Anna smacked his hand away but then allowed him to take one, which caused Megan smiled a bit before answering.

"He was in the foster care system and Gran took him in. I think she said yes to him before she even knew I was coming for sure," Megan said with a shrug, paying more attention to her bagel than to the three teens sitting at the same small table she was sitting at. "You guys will meet him. Our plan was to meet up during lunch if we weren't in the same orientation rooms," she said, taking a break from her bagel to chomp down on a chip thoughtfully. The four then went back to eating, as there was nothing more to be said.

When the bell rang, signifying the end of the first day of school, Megan frowned. Not only had Jack forgotten all about her, there was no way she would be able to find him in this mess. "Meg," Anna called over the din of the main hall of the school.

"Yeah?" Megan asked as she pushed her way back over to Anna, holding her bag close to her side.

"Where is he?" Anna asked, knowing who she was looking for and why she was looking for him. Anna was clearly worried that she was upset.

"I dunno. Do you know who that blonde that he was talking to is?" Megan asked.

"Yep, Skye Maddox," Anna said. "She's actually right over there," she added pointing at the blonde haired girl who was talking to a boy Megan had seen with Jack earlier.

"I'm going to see if they know where Jack is," Megan said. "Thanks Anna, I'll call you later maybe, alright?"

"Yeah, let me know how this goes," Anna said waving to Megan as she got swept away by the crowd.

Megan pushed her way over to where Skye and the other boy were standing. As she approached them, Skye looked up at Megan curiously. "Uh, I saw you talking to Jack Rhode before, do you know where he went?" she blurted out.

"Oh, he went home with Fox," the boy supplied.

"Who?" Megan asked curiously.

"A new friend," the boy said.

"Oh," Megan said before biting her lower lip.

"I'm going over there in a bit, do you want me to tell him anything for you…" the boy trailed off, leaving space for her to fill in her name.

"Megan," she supplied. "Just tell him to make sure to call home," Megan said fiddling with her ring one more.

"Sure thing. I'm Matt by the way," Matt said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Matt, and you too," Megan said to Skye politely, even though she had felt the other girl giving her the once over as she talked to Matt.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Skye," Skye said, finally focusing her eyes on Megan's face.

Megan was about the step away when someone grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off her feet. She shrieked as she grabbed whoever was holding her around the middle, knowing who it was immediately just from his hands.

"Bobby Mercer, put me down right this second," Megan demanded, seeing the looks of surprise on Skye and Matt's faces.

"Hey Kid," Bobby said. "These your new friends?" he asked curiously, focusing mainly on Matt. Megan laughed as Matt shrunk back a bit under her surrogate brother's gaze.

"This is Matt and that's Skye, they're Jack's friends," Megan said with a giggle as she watched Matt react to Bobby. "Matt, don't worry, Bobby only bites when I ask him to." Matt smiled at this but still kept his distance.

"I'm going with Angel and Jer to the rink to play some hockey, you and Jackie wanna come and be our cheerleaders?" Bobby offered with slight concern. Megan knew it was because of the 'they're Jack's friends' comment. She mentally cursed herself for being so stupid as to say something like that so carelessly.

"Jack's gone off to some friend's house and I kinda wanna go home and chat with some friends on AOL," Megan said, looking Bobby in the eye, knowing if she didn't, he would catch her half bluff right away. The truth was, she felt slightly betrayed by Jack and wanted to be alone to mull it over before he came home.

"Right, I'll come 'round later for Gran's baked goods and we'll talk," Bobby said. Megan mentally cursed herself again as she realized he had caught on. He heard her bitter tone and now he wouldn't leave her alone until he knew the truth. She sighed inwardly as he hugged her tightly in farewell and turned to find his brothers.

"So, yeah, again, nice to meet you two," Megan said turning to Matt and Skye, giving them both a little wave before running off.**

* * *

A/N: I love that you all love this story. Thanks for the reviews and support!**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	7. Fixing Things

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

****Chapter 7:**

As Megan walked into the house, she heard Gran call her into the kitchen. She sighed and paused in the hallway. She knew that Gran was as likely to leave her alone as Bobby was.

"Hey Gran," Megan said, trying to put on a cheery disposition as to not upset her elderly grandmother.

"Hey sweetheart, how was the first day?" Gran asked.

"It was good. I made friends with this girl name Anna, her twin brother Seth and another boy, Liam," Megan said as she grabbed one of the cupcakes that Gran had set out to cool by the window and chewed on it in an attempt to make the gnawing feeling in her stomach leave her alone.

"And Jack? Where is he? I told him to call home if he was going to be late," Gran said with a frown.

"I dunno," Megan said. "I ran into a boy Jack made friends with today and he said that they were all going over to some other boy's house to play video games or something." It took all of her willpower to keep from telling Gran everything. It wasn't that she didn't want her grandmother's advice, but her conflicting emotions made her feel so silly that saying nothing seemed like the best option.

"Yes, well, I suppose now's as good a time as any to tell you," Gran said with a sigh.

"What do you mean Gran?" Megan asked curiously, glad that there was another emotion for her to project her energy on aside from the obvious.

"Well, you remember what we talked about last night? How I don't know what to do for Jack?" Gran asked nervously.

"Yes, and I told you that you were doing plenty by keeping him here and away from his past," Megan said, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"I remember what you said darling, but I can't help feeling like there is someone who can do a better job. I called Evelyn Mercer this morning and we had lunch together. She said she would take Jack," Gran said with a sigh. "I called Mr. Rink after Evelyn and I talked. She won't be able to take him for a year or so, and we'll keep him here until then, but he's to go there at the start of the next school year."

"Oh," Megan said simply, not sure if she was happy or unhappy with the arrangement.

"I also talked to your mother," Gran started.

"And?" Megan asked, once more not sure if it was good news or bad news.

"And we've agreed that when Jack leaves, you will also, if you wish," Gran said. Megan snorted inwardly. 'If you wish' meant that she was going home. Megan's mother put up a sweet facade for her mother, pretending like she was giving Megan a choice, but there was no way Megan was going to be allowed to even think about staying when time came.

"Um, alright," Megan said tugging at her hair as many different thoughts ran through her head. "May I go upstairs?" she asked as she grabbed another cupcake along with the half-eaten one in her other hand and left the kitchen, barely noticing her grandmother's nod that properly excused her.

Megan ran up the three flights of stairs and rushed into her room, shutting her door behind her. She quickly finished the first cupcake but decided to take her time with the second one. How was she supposed to feel? First Jack forgets about her, then she finds out he's going to move in with the Mercers while she was shipped back home. She wished, selfishly, it could be the other way around. She couldn't stand her mother nor could she stand the thought of having to leave her surrogate family.

"Bree, should I be happy, or should I be sad?" Megan whispered as the ginger-haired kitten jumped onto her bed. The kitten just mewed and butted her small pink nose against Megan's cheek. "I just hope mom let's me keep you," she told the small kitten. "Otherwise I'll have to beg Gran or the Mercers to take you."

Megan finished her second cupcake and then sat up. She ripped off her Vans and threw them against her closet door in frustration before standing up. Once she was on her feet, she quickly stripped off her jeans and shirt, leaving behind her purple camisole. Megan blasted the air and shivered, pulling on her favorite over-sized sweatshirt as well as a pair of sweatpants before falling back on her bed, allowing her eyes to close. She needed a nap to clear her head and to give her a break from the incoming flood of news.

* * *

Jack flopped down on one of Fox's beanbags feeling unsure of himself. He had gone home with Fox after having lunch with his new friends. He knew he was supposed to go over to Megan and he knew he shouldn't have left her hanging like that, but he wasn't sure what else to do. He didn't want to abandon his new friends and he definitely wanted to talk to Skye.

"So Jack, what do you wanna play?" Fox said as he brought a huge bowl of popcorn with him into the room.

"I dunno," Jack said with a shrug, the guilt still clouding his mind. He could only imagine Megan's big, chocolate brown eyes filled with betrayal. It hurt just to think about. "Do you have Super Smash Brothers?" he asked curiously as he took some popcorn for himself as Sander and Matt sat down on the other two beanbags that were set up in front of the television.

"Naw, I don't play that junk," Fox said shaking his head.

"Yeh, I stopped playin' that game years ago," Matt agreed as Sander nodded in blind agreement. He had never really had time to play video games but it was clear that he didn't want to upset his new friends, the same way Jack didn't want to either.

"Yeah, well, whatever," Jack muttered as he grabbed another handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth. Fox stuck a game cartridge into his game system and soon the room was filled with the four boys laughing and shouting, the discomfort from the Super Smash Brother's comment long gone.

"Oh, Jack," Matt started as they took a break from the game so Fox could get more food. "A girl came up to me and Skye after school asking about you. She said her name was Megan and she told me to tell you to call home or something."

"Shit!" Jack exclaimed. "I forgot," he muttered as he whipped out his new cell phone and dialed the house phone. He quickly spoke to Gran as Sander and Matt watched him in surprise.

"Dude, what was that all about?" Matt asked as Jack hung up his phone.

"Well, uh, I was supposed to call home if I was going to be late," Jack said rubbing the back of his head.

"What are you, a momma's boy?" Fox asked as he walked back into the room with more popcorn and some other snacks.

"Naw, I just moved in with Gran and Megan and I don't wanna mess it up," Jack said with a shrug.

"What do you mean, mess it up?" Sander asked curiously.

"I was in the system before this," Jack said lightly, trying to make it sound like it was nothing when, in reality, it was everything.

"What? Like foster care?" Fox asked.

"Yeah, like foster care. Group homes and all that shit. I got into the system when I was old, like 9 or 10 years old. No one wants a kid that age, they all want babies, so I was pushed from home to home. I've been living with Gran and Megan for about a month now and I don't wanna mess it up," Jack said biting his lower lip, hoping the boys wouldn't ask for anymore.

"Oh," Fox said in surprise. "Sorry, man," he added awkwardly.

"No, I'm used to it, it's alright," Jack said letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. They weren't going to pursue that line of question. He hated lying to his new friends but what was he supposed to do? Tell them the truth? Have them play nice for the rest of the afternoon but then have them ditch him the next day because they didn't know how to treat him? No, he would leave it and hope the knowledge would disappear to the back of their minds, never to be spoken of or thought of again. They weren't ready to be introduced to that kind of brutality anyways. He had only told Megan because she already knew where he was coming from. She spent time with Bobby, Jerry and Angel. She wasn't going to be scared away by some bruises and scary stories. It was now that he felt even worse about ditching her.

Jack played a few more games with his new friends until the guilt took over. He had to go fix things. "Listen guys, I'm gonna jet. I told Gran I would be home soon and I don't want her to worry," he said as he stood up and grabbed his bag from where he had dropped it earlier.

"Well, alright," Fox said as he stood up to lead Jack out. "Listen man, I'm really sorry about before," he trailed off as he opened the front door for his friend.

"Yeah, no, it's alright. You guys didn't know. How could you?" Jack asked, shrugging it off.

"Alright," Fox replied hesitantly.

"It's alright Fox. I'll see you guys tomorrow. There's someone I want you to meet if she'll still talk to me," Jack said regretfully.

"Who? Your friend Megan?" Fox asked. Jack smiled. Fox might be tactless but at times he was very observant.

"Yeah, I was supposed to find her at lunch but I got wrapped up with you guys and Skye and I didn't. It wasn't even that I forgot. I just didn't. And then I didn't even bother to find her after school?" Jack asked, angry with himself again. "If she's still talking to me, I'll be surprised. That's why I gotta go home. I gotta fix it," he said determinedly, remembering what Megan had said about fixing things. He had no idea why he was telling Fox all this but it didn't matter. What mattered was getting home and setting his priorities straight.

"Well, I wish you luck with that," Fox said honestly.

"Thanks, I'll need it," Jack said with a sigh. "Bye, see ya tomorrow," he said as he shifted his bag on his shoulder a bit before stepping out of Fox's house.

"Bye Jack, see ya tomorrow," Fox confirmed as Jack walked down the brick path and turned left. He was pretty sure he knew the way home from there and, if not, he could always call Gran for a little help.

* * *

When Jack got home, he waved to Gran who was sitting in the living room crocheting a scarf. "Jack, dinner's in a half hour. When you get upstairs, let Megan and Bobby know. Also, after dinner I would like to talk to you about something," she called out to Jack as he headed towards the stairs.

"Sure thing Gran," Jack called back as he walked up the stairs, taking it two steps at a time, wondering why Bobby was there and what he was going to say to Megan when he made it to the top of the stairs.

Jack dropped his bag off in his room before walking quietly over to Megan's room. The door was slightly ajar and he couldn't help but eavesdrop, even though he knew he shouldn't have. "Bobby, I don't know if I'm crazy or not. I mean, why should I be jealous is Jack's making friends?" he heard Megan ask.

"Because you were there first. You were the one who talked to him late at night and made him feel better. You built up his self-esteem, not that stupid blond bimbo, Skye," Bobby responded. Jack winced. Megan must have been pretty upset to get Bobby calling Skye a stupid blond bimbo.

"Bobby!" Megan cried out in protest. "If she's good enough to be Jack's friend, then she's good enough for me," she said. Jack knew it was forced but he was glad she was willing to stand up for him and his choices. Bobby just snorted in response. Jack didn't wait to hear Bobby's response. Instead, he knocked softly on the door.

"Come in," Megan called. When Jack opened the door, he found Bobby with his back up against Megan's headboard and his legs stretched out in front of him while she was leaning against his torso, his arm around her curled up frame as she told him how she was feeling after her first day of school.

"Uh, Gran said dinner should be ready soon," Jack said in a small voice.

"I think I'll go set the table or somethin'," Bobby said as he gently pushed Megan off of him and slid off the bed. "Good luck with this one, Cracker Jack," Bobby muttered into Jack's ear as he brushed by the 13 year-old.

"Hey," Jack said nervously as Megan rolled over onto her stomach and began to pick at her comforter.

"Hey," Megan responded, keeping her eyes on her comforter.

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier," Jack said as he sat down on Megan's bed, far from where she had positioned herself.

"Yeah?" Megan asked. Jack wasn't sure if she was being mean or sincere but what did it matter? He hadn't been kicked out of the room quite yet and she wasn't yelling at him. Those must be good signs.

"Yeah. I should have gone to meet up with you during lunch. I saw you, but also saw this girl, Skye," Jack said, unsure what to say after that. Megan had seen the bruises and had heard some of his sob story, but he wasn't sure if now was a good time to talk about his past with Skye.

"Skye," Megan repeated. "How do you know her?" she asked. Or maybe it is, Jack thought with a small smile. He then proceeded to tell Megan of the day he met Skye and Chloe and how they had seem him get beaten up by his dad after they had spent the afternoon playing together.

"Oh," Megan said in a small voice.

"I knew it was her when she told me her name this morning. During orientation, I made friends with Fox, Matt and Sander, but the entire time I was thinkin' about her and what to do or say if I saw her again. Then I saw her in the lunchroom. I knew I had to talk to her right then or I never would, so I did. Then she dragged me off to talk to me about shit. We talked all lunch and then I was gonna go find you, but Fox called me over to play video games and I didn't wanna say no because I didn't want them to hate me or nothin'. I should've found you or called you, I know I should've, but I didn't. So I guess there's no real excuse, I'm just real sorry," Jack finally finished.

"It's alright," Megan whispered sadly as she finally looked up at Jack with tears in her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Jack asked fearfully. Had he said something to upset her even more?

"It's nothing, just the story you told me about you and Skye and your dad, that's all," Megan said, sniffing back tears and rolling off her bed. "C'mon, dinner should be ready." Jack caught her arm before she had the chance to exit the room.

"So we're okay?" Jack asked as he looked into Megan's eyes, hoping to see forgiveness and not spite.

"Yeah," Megan said with a small smile as she looked into Jack eyes. He frowned when he saw sorrow in her eyes, but pulled her into a hug anyways.

"It'll be alright," Jack said trying to make her feel better about whatever she was hiding from him. He didn't want to push only because she had never pushed him before. Megan would tell him what was upsetting her when she was ready, and not a moment sooner.

Megan nodded against Jack's chest and pulled away only to lead him downstairs and into the dinning room where Bobby and Gran were waiting for them.**

* * *

A/N: Not much to say other than I hope you all liked it. **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	8. Crossfire

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 8:**

After dinner, Gran told Jack. It didn't go well, to say the least. After she told him he was going to leave at the end of the year and I was going as well, he stormed up to his room and slammed the door. Bobby jumped up and ran after him before my brain had the time to tell me to get off my ass and do something. Bobby said he would talk to Jack first and when he went home, I could take over.

I sat impatiently in my seat as Gran slowly cleared the table. Neither of us were doing much talking, nor would we as long as I had any say in it, at least for a little while. When Bobby came down the stairs, he hugged me quickly before I bolted up the stairs. I didn't care what he was going to say to Gran, I just wanted to go see how Jack was. I might have been nonchalant about the whole situation back when I was mad at Jack but now I was upset. Why did he have to leave? Why did I have to leave? We wouldn't be together anymore. Hell, there would be states in between us. Sure, nothing was going to happen for another year, but we just met. It wasn't fair.

"Jack," I whispered, as I knocked softly on his door, trying to make my frantic thoughts settle down so I could at least attempt to calm him down.

"Come in," Jack said in a muffled voice.

"Hey Jackie," I said as I pushed the door to his room open and sat down on his bed next to him.

"I don't want to go. I don't want you to go," Jack mumbled into his pillow as I began to run my hand through his hair in a calming manner, just as I had the first night he had come to me with a nightmare.

"I don't want any of that either," I replied honestly. "But that's not for another year. We don't know what's going to happen before then. I might not even leave. I mean, who's to say I'll want to go home at the end of the year? It's my choice, donchya know," I said as I tried to make myself believe what I was saying just as much as I was trying to make Jack believe.

"I know we have a year, but…" Jack trailed off. I knew what he was feeling. I felt it too.

"Listen, we have a year, and that's all that matters. We'll see what happens. We have time. I bet by the end of the year, you'll be so sick of me that you're gonna be glad I'm going back to New York," I joked weakly. There was no way I ever wanted that to happen, but you never knew.

"No, I'll never be sick of you," Jack said determinedly as he picked up his head, his blue-green eyes meeting mine, the intensity warming my insides, chasing away the cold fear I had been feeling.

"Good," I whispered shakily as a tear fell down my cheek. It was too much. I hate being mad at people and all this news was too much. I knew we were overreacting but what else were we supposed to do? I mean, sure we had a year, but we only met a month ago. It wasn't enough time. I knew I was going home, regardless of the choice they were pretending I had. My mom would make me because she's a control freak. Besides, Gran would probably move to a nursing home at the end of the year when Jack was placed with the Mercers, so I wouldn't have anywhere to stay even if I wanted to.

"Promise me," Jack said as he sat up and settled himself across from me, his eyes still locked with mine.

"What?" I asked, unable to think or say anything more then that.

"Promise me that no matter what, you'll never forget about me," Jack said.

"Only if you promise to never forget about me," I said, holding out my pinky. I know it's childish, but I'm only 13 and he clearly agreed. Jack locked pinkies with me and we kissed our thumbs, sealing the promise. Both of us allowed our lips to linger on our thumbs, our eyes still locked even now. We were close enough for me to know he smelled like crisp fall air and dead leaves. Not that it was a bad thing. I just hoped he smelled like snow and pine trees in the winter and rain and grass in the spring.

The two of us pulled away from each other, dropping our joined hands onto the bed and finally breaking eye contact. Jack used his free hand to wipe away the few tears that had fallen down my face and then gave me a one armed hug, refusing to let go of my pinky. "Don't leave, alright?" he asked. I saw the hope in his eyes and just nodded, knowing what he meant. He wanted to spend the night with me tonight, just as I had done the night before. I was totally okay with that.

"I'll need my hand back though, so I can go wash up for bed," I said with a small smile as I tugged at his pinky. Jack blushed and finally let me go. I jumped up from his bed, my body tingling with a feeling I didn't quite understand, one that I pushed aside for consideration at a later date.

I went into the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face before leaving the bathroom and allowing Jack to take over. I walked into his room and stripped, stealing a pair of unused boxers and one of Jack's over-sized shirts.

"You know, I could have sworn you had your own pajamas," Jack said as he tossed something in a drawer and shut it. I smiled, and shrugged.

"I like guy's clothing better than what they make for us girls," I said as I turned up the air conditioner, just as I did every night, and pulled back Jack's covers so that I could get in and cuddle up under the blankets. I didn't have to wait long before Jack joined me. He wrapped an arm around my middle and I pushed my back up against his torso. I shivered slightly from the sudden chill of the air conditioner and in response he pulled me closer. I sighed in content as his body heat joined mine and warmed me. We pulled the covers up to our ears and it didn't take long for us to fall asleep._

* * *

Four Months Later_

It had been a while since that night. It had been officially decided I would go home at the end of the summer, Jack would go to the Mercers and Gran would go into a nursing home. None of us liked to talk or think about it, seeing as though it was only January and we still had a whole semester and a summer to go before anything happened.

"Hey, guys, let's go to Anna and Seth's house after school today," Fox suggested. I smiled. It didn't take long for our social groups to merge. Jack's friends met my friends and that was the end. Now Jack and I were surrounded by Anna, Seth, Liam, Fox, Sander and Matt daily. Skye sometimes talked to Jack and Matt, but not the others. Sure, Jack was glad to have that connection to the only good part of his childhood, but it didn't mean he would drop everything to go talk to her, like he had done on the first day.

"Yeah, Ma made cookies," Anna said with a bright smile.

"That sounds incredible," I said happily, speaking for everyone, as I finished my water bottle and tossed it out before heading to English with Anna walking next to me. Jack, Sander, Fox and Liam all had Gym while Matt and Seth had History.

"So what's going on with you and Jack?" Anna asked.

"What?" I asked in surprise. I was glad I didn't have my water bottle anymore because God knows if I did I would have chucked it in Anna's direction.

"It's clear you guys like each other," Anna said simply.

"Annabelle Eve Kolhegan, what in fuck's name are you talking about?" I cursed. But I knew what she was talking about. That feeling I had felt those months ago, it was recurring. It didn't take long for it to get through my thick head that I liked Jack. At first I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to push it out and forget about it, but I couldn't. I accepted it, but I didn't do anything about it knowing Jack could never like me. He couldn't because I knew I should have never liked Jack to begin with. He was my best friend. He was the guy who I pinky promised never to forget. I was sharing a bed with him at least four days out of the week, whether it was because of nightmares or something else. But regardless of what I knew, I couldn't help it.

"You know what I'm talking about," Anna said with a smug smile. I did.

"Fuck," I muttered, pissed that she had caught on and that now I would have to face the music.

"Fuck is right. Now what are you going to do about it?" Anna asked.

"Not a damn thing. Jack's not your average boy and you know that. If he's ready for something like a relationship, then I'm here. It's just, from where I stand right now, I can't see him wanting to get into anything," I said with a shrug as I remembered Jack telling me how he was raped by his uncle and then later, raped again by his foster parents. It made me a little sick to remember the stories, so God only knows how he feels remembering them. No, I'll keep this shit to myself. It's probably just some crush that'll go away, so why make a big deal of it? Besides, we got our promise and our best friendship to keep us together, so if in the long run this is something more than a crush and he feels the same way, we'll deal with it.

"Alright," Anna said shaking her head as we rushed to our seats right before class started.

* * *

After school, I called home to tell Gran that Jack and I would be going over to Anna and Seth's house. She was cool with it, which was to be expected. Gran was always very happy with the idea of Jack and me socializing and getting out of the house. Once we are all together, I linked arms with Anna and we led the way, only breaking away from each other when the boys pulled us into their banter.

"Shit, guys go ahead, I needa drop by the Mercers to give something to Angel," I heard Jack say suddenly. I frowned. I hadn't said a word to any of the Mercers since Bobby left town, again. He had left about a month after school started. He didn't say goodbye or anything. He didn't even have the decency to leave me a note. He sent me a letter from Chicago saying his hockey team needed him for training. Apparently he was un-suspended again. I've always had issues with people who just leave. I'm not sure if Bobby knows it, but it shouldn't matter. He shouldn't have left like that and that much I knew he understood, from the letter he sent me. But it didn't matter. If Bobby thought it was okay to just up and leave, then its okay for me to just up and forget about him. I don't mean to ignore the other Mercers as well, but it's just so hard for me to go over there without getting upset at Bobby all over again.

"Alright, tell Ms. Evelyn we say hi," Fox called. We had all spent a lot of time at the Mercers before Bobby took off. Ma always loved for us to come over and rob her of all her baked goods, as if Bobby, Jerry and Angel didn't do that well enough on their own. As I said, I haven't been to the Mercers in forever, but the others have been. I always make these amazingly lame excuses and ditch. They all know why I don't wanna go and they leave me alone about it. They understand that Bobby's like a brother to me and his leaving didn't sit well with me. For that, I'm more grateful then you could ever imagine.

We walked the rest of the way to Anna's house and settled down with food and a movie, Red Eye, to watch. Maybe I'm the biggest chicken in the world, but I love the feeling scary movies give you and I love being able to grab onto Jack and hide my face in his shirt… shit. Bad, bad Megan! What is wrong with me? I want to make it stop, but the smell of winter is overpowering… yes, his smell does change as the seasons pass. You would think he would smell like his shampoo or deodorant but no. And now its winter, my favorite season ever, and he has to smell like it. This is really not helping my case. I shook my head, trying to make all these thoughts go away before the boys caught on. I knew Anna knew something of what was running through my head and the knowing smiles she keeps giving me don't help, but as long as the boys don't know, I suppose its okay.

We were all settled down, ready to start the movie, just waiting for Jack to catch up with us. When the door did open, as we had left it open so we wouldn't have to get up, Jack came rushing in with tears in his eyes. I jumped up faster then fast and rushed over to him. So much for being lazy, right? "Jack, what happened?" I asked in fear. If he was crying, it's probably something I should be upset over too.

"Gran. Meg… Meg, there was a shooting outside the house and Gran… God Meg," Jack said, trying to tell me what was happening.

"What?" I asked. I didn't need to though. I knew what he was saying. Gran was dead. I just wouldn't collapse until he said it.

"Gran got caught in the crossfire… I was at the Mercers when some guy called Ms. Evelyn. They… she said Gran died," Jack sobbed. After a moment to process, my legs crumpled under me just as I thought they would and there I was, sitting on the floor, my hands covering my face and sobbing my eyes out. I felt Jack drop down next to me. He snaked his arms around me and we sobbed into each others shoulders for what seemed like a forever. I knew our friends were just standing in shock and sadness. Maybe Anna was crying as well, with Seth comforting her in the same way Jack and I were trying to comfort each other.

"Jack," I gasped. She's gone… dead. That's so final I can't even believe it. I've never lost anyone as close to me as Gran is... or was. It's 'was' now, isn't it? It's so confusing and I can't even figure out how to stop crying long enough to even get my thoughts in order. I can't even talk properly. All I can do is say Jack's name over and over again, hoping he knows.

"May, it'll be alright," Jack said. He's trying so hard to stop crying and be strong for me. I know it and I wanna tell him he can cry too because if he's feeling anything of what I'm feeling then he has every right to. The thing was, I just can't speak coherently anymore. The only word that was coming out of my mouth was Jack's name. Sick of sounding like a broken record, I just stopped. I just slumped up against Jack and stopped everything but breathing and crying. He held me. He was my support and he was all the support I could ever need.

I fell asleep from exhaustion and disbelief right there in Jack's arms on the floor maybe twenty minutes after I started crying. I vaguely remember him picking me up and setting me on the couch, blasting the air conditioner and covering me with Anna's over-stuffed comforter. He stayed with me, never leaving my side. We both stayed at Anna's house the night, curled up on the over-sized couch, just barely fitting.**

* * *

A/N: So yeah, this chapter's in Megan's POV… I'm going to go with that for a little while. Let me know if you hate it. And I'm also sorry I had to kill Megan's grandmother… I didn't want to, but it had to happen. Hope you all see that. **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	9. Not Goodbye, Just See Ya Later

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

****Chapter 9:**

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like shit. Complete and utter shit. I rolled out from under Jack's embrace and stretched myself out. My back must have cracked four or five times. It was only after I finished stretching that I remember why I felt so shitty. I bit my lower lip quickly to stop the tears. I was only able to stop the new flood of tears because I had no tears left to cry. I was all cried out. It didn't take me long to realize that I was dressed in the boxers and top I stole from Jack that summer. Someone must have gone back to the house to get some clothing for us. I sighed, finding it hard to imagine how I would ever be able to go back to that house, knowing Gran was shot in front of it. I tied my hair up with the ponytail holder I always kept on my wrist, and walked into the kitchen to get some water.

After drinking a few glasses of water, I walked up the stairs in order to take a shower. As I grabbed a towel from the linen closet, I saw that it was 7 o'clock in the morning. Damn… no wonder no one else was up. I yawned and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I showered quickly, only using what I knew to be Anna's. I had slept over tons of times and had used Anna's stuff before, seeing as though most of our sleepovers were unplanned.

The sleepovers were pretty few and far between. I never liked being away from home, being away from Jackie. I can't let myself become too busy. I always need to show him that I'll always have time to stop and listen. There were a times when Anna nagged me so much that I stayed. Generally Jack was staying over with the boys and we would all end out in the living room on the floor together, but there have been a few times when it was just me and Anna and the boys had gone to someone else's house. Those were the times when I got text messages late at night from Jack, keeping me up even later then Anna had. I was always tired and grumpy the next day but a hug and Jack whispering 'thanks' into my ear later that day made it almost all better. Nothing but a nap could completely cure the grumpiness, but the warm embrace and the gratitude makes me feel like I'm really doing something with myself.

I shut off the shower after rinsing out all the conditioner from my hair and making sure there was no soap left on my body. I wrapped the fluffy green towel around me and tiptoed into Anna's room to find something to wear. After searching for a bit, I pulled out a shirt that was clearly stolen from Seth and a pair of slightly baggy jeans. I left the room, careful to not wake up Anna, and went back downstairs.

"Mother?" I asked in shock when I got back to the kitchen and saw a very familiar face sitting at the kitchen table along with Mrs. Kolhegan. Jesus fucking Christ, what was my mother doing here?

"Megan, I've come to take you home," my mother, Lia, said. My jaw dropped to the floor. No way. No way was my mother in Detroit. No way was Gran dead. This was one very bad dream. I would wake up soon and find myself sleeping in my own bed, with the air conditioner humming happily, Jack having beaten me to the shower as per usual and Gran making us some breakfast before school.

"Mother! Are you outta your mind?" I whispered angrily, not wanting to wake up the rest of the house, realizing this really wasn't a dream after discretely pinching myself and wincing inwardly from the pain.

"No, I'm not out of my mind Megan Olivia. My mind is made up. Besides, where would you stay if you stayed here? Your Grandmother is dead," my mother said stonily.

"Mom! She was your mother, can't you show even the least bit of emotion?" I exclaimed. My mother had always been like that. She never showed any feeling what so ever. No joy, no sadness, no pain, no nothing. Always the stony face that made me and my siblings dub her "Tombstone". Lame, I know. We made it up when we were really little, but we called her that and, of course, she didn't know. Ha, if she did known, she would have grounded us for an eternity.

"Megan, I suggest you say goodbye to your friends now. We're leaving straight away. The funeral will be in New York. Your Grandmother's body is already being moved," Lia said.

"You have got to be kidding me. Don't you think my friends wanna say goodbye to Gran? What about Jack? Gran fed him, clothed him and kept him safe for 5 months. Don't you think he wants to be there? And Evelyn Mercer, she was Gran's very best friend, and her boys? What gave you idea that this was okay Ma? Who said this was okay?" I shouted, unable to hold in my anger anymore. I groaned inwardly as I saw Jack walk sleepily into the kitchen. He was dressed similar to how I had been dressed before my shower, boxers and an over-sized tee that he had taken from Seth. Not that his sleep attire at home was much different.

"I said it was okay," my mother said finally.

"Yeah, well I don't. And I do have somewhere to stay," I said as I ran to the living room and pulled on my boots quickly. I grabbed my jacket from the coat rack on my way out. I faintly heard Jack yelling after me, while my mother demanded I stop this nonsense, but I ran. I knew Jack would find me, and my mother, well, if I never saw her again, it would be too soon.

* * *

When I finally got to the Mercer house, I nearly banged down the door. Angel opened the door and I fell into him. I would have cried, but I had nothing left. It seemed as though being dehydrated wasn't the problem. So instead of tears, I just heaved. "Oh baby girl," Angel muttered as he pulled me inside to find Evelyn, Jerry and, to my surprise, Bobby, sitting around the breakfast table.

Bobby shot up and took me from Angel, cradling me in his strong arms. "Meggy, what's the matter?" Bobby whispered into my ear. "Tell me who did this to you and I'll kill 'em," he told me. I would have laughed had the situation not been so serious.

"My… my Mother, she came to Detroit. They're… God Bobby, they're taking Gran's body to New York and I'm going with them," I blurted out. "Bobby… Bobby I don't wanna go," I cried out. My cry was muffled seeing as though my face was buried in Bobby's strong chest, but I knew they had all heard what I had said from the gasp that had filled the room, especially Evelyn's.

Evelyn walked over to where Bobby and I were stand in the kitchen and took me from him. She helped me into the living room and sat me down. "Sweetheart," she told me, "Calm down. It'll be alright."

"How? I don't wanna go Ma. I might call her Mother because I have to, but she's not my Ma in any other sense 'cept biologically," I said. "I don't wanna go back to that. Please, don't let her take me away."

"No, never," Evelyn said as she pulled me into a tight embrace. I breathed in her musty old lady smell that reminded me so much of Gran. I didn't even both trying to find tears because I didn't need to. It was comforting. I didn't need to cry because that scent reminded me of happiness and of safety.

It wasn't long before there was more pounding at the door and my friends spilled into the house. Jack, Anna, Seth, Liam, Sander, Fox and Matt all piled into the already crowded house, all of them still partially in pajamas and rather dazed. Anna rushed over to me and sat down on the other side of me, trying to comfort me by rubbing my back gently. Jack was taken into the back of the house by Bobby while Jerry and Angel shepherded Seth, Liam, Sander, Fox and Matt into the kitchen to find them something to help them wake up.

* * *

When Bobby and Jack came back, my mother was with them. "Why is she here," I said with conviction, feeling betrayed. Why would they bring me the one woman I hate the most?

"Because they know just as much as I do that you have to go home," my mother stated. "At least someone here has a sense of propriety." I looked at Bobby and Jack, both of them hanging their heads in defeat. I sighed. I knew there was no other way. I knew I was going home. Today.

"You have to give me twenty minutes to say goodbye. Then you take me and Jack to Gran's house to pack up. We get and hour to do so," I said, dropping my unsure, little girl, innocent look and put on my negotiating face. It was all business with my mother, all the time.

"Ten minutes with your friends here and twenty back at the house," my mother said roughly.

"Fifteen here and forty-five back at the house, or I'll start in," I said dangerously. No one quite understood what I meant by that, but I knew my mother did.

"Fine," she conceded. "I'll wait outside." The minute she left the house, I switch modes again and let out a tired sigh.

"Well, she's not joking. I have fifteen minutes, she timing it," I whispered as I looked around the room. Everyone was back, stuffed into the small living room. I would normally feel claustrophobic, but just then I felt anything but. I felt loved and safe. I couldn't believe I was leaving. I had been trying to find that feeling for so long and now I had to leave it? My heart was ready to crumble into little pieces.

I quickly said goodbye to the boys. I gave Seth, Liam, Fox, Matt and Sander huge hugs and a kiss on the cheek, swearing to e-mail, call, IM, write and anything else I could possibly do. The five boys waved mournfully as they left the house and went back to Anna and Seth's house to get dressed properly. As they left the room, and emptied it the way they did, it was like they were leaving my heart, emptying it ever so slightly, only leaving behind faint footprints of memories.

Next came Anna. I threw my arms around her tight and we squeezed he life out of each other. She was my first real girl friend. She was my best friend other then Jack. Sure I had friends back home, but none like Anna. Never like Anna. "I'll miss you girl," Anna whispered into my ears.

"Damn straight," I whispered back as my eyes watered. "I'll miss you too," I said before pulling away.

"I get the same treatment as the boys but better, alright?" Anna asked tearfully.

"Given," I answered. How could I not be in contact with Anna? I could never let my best girl friend go.

"Oh! Shit, this is for you," Anna said, taking off one of her favorite silver bangles. "Like a friendship bracelet thing," she whispered as she fingered the one that was left on her wrist. I slipped it on immediately and hugged her tightly again. She walked out of the house, following the boys and turning back only to wave at me sadly.

Then I turned to Angel and Jerry. Man, did they look depressed. Almost as if their favorite television show had just been canceled. "Hey why the sad faces? I wanna see smiles in my last ten minutes. Something to remember all you by," I whispered. I had always loved it when Angel smiled. He hardly ever did, but it was the most amazing thing to see if you ever get a chance to. Jerry also had an incredible smile and an infection laugh.

"Yeah," they said together as the smiled for me. I launched myself at them and hugged them both at the same time. They held me close for a few moments before they each gave me a kiss on the forehead and they hugged me individually. Then they grabbed their coats, muttering something about going to see their respective girlfriends.

"I'll go first," Evelyn said, seeing how reluctant Bobby was. I smiled weakly yet gratefully at her. "I'm going to miss having a girl come over here and save me from these barbarians," Evelyn said as she pulled me into a fierce hug that I had no idea she was capable of.

"Anna will try her best to fill in," I whispered.

"Nothing will ever be like my Meggy," Evelyn responded.

"Ma, no one will ever take you place in my heart, you know that?" I said as I pulled back slightly and looked into Evelyn's bright blue eyes.

"And the same goes for me," Evelyn said as a tear fell down her cheek. It was all just too much, even for the strongest of us all.

"And I'll visit. I dunno how, but I'll visit. I swear it," I said as tears clouded my vision. Maybe now I could cry again.

"I know. I'll try and visit you too, sweetheart. I'll come with cookies and news of your friends and brother," Evelyn said.

"But Ma, promise me one thing," I whispered really quietly.

"Anything," Evelyn whispered back, ready to share one more secret promise with me.

"Take care of Jack for me. Don't let him go back to the system. I know you're not supposed to adopt him for a few months, but please don't let him go back into the system," I begged as quietly as I could, not wanting Jack to hear. I knew he wouldn't be able to handle it all the pain and suffering the system had to offer.

"I swear it. Cross my heart and hope to die," Evelyn said as her tears began to fall more heavily.

"He keeps his toothbrush in his sock drawer. He also hides other things. He thinks I don't know. God, he thinks he's so crafty. Please find out why. Please help him. Fix what I didn't have time to," I pleaded. I needed to know Jack would be safe and happy. I needed to know that I wasn't leaving him to rot in Detroit.

"I will. I promise I'll take care of your boy," Evelyn said.

"Make him your boy because I can't be around, alright?" I asked. I didn't really want to give Jack to someone else to take care of but I knew I had to.

"Yes, of course," Evelyn told me. I hugged her tightly one more time before she went outside with the others. Maybe she was going to talk to my mother, maybe not. All I knew was that she took Jack with her, leaving Bobby and me to talk. I turned to Bobby to see tears falling down his face.

"Don't tell me you're going soft on me, Mercer," I said as tears began to fall down my face freely again. This time it wasn't Bobby leaving, it was me.

"No," Bobby said, not even bothering to wipe away the tears.

"Promise me three things," I said simply. That's all I wanted out of him. Three things.

"Anything," Bobby said, responding in the same way his Ma had just minutes before.

"Keep Jack safe. I know I made Ma promise, but I also know she can't protect him from the kind of things I know you can protect him from. Make him a real Mercer for me," I said, stating my first bit.

"I wouldn't dream of doin' anything else," Bobby said shaking his head softly. I laughed softly at my silliness. Of course Bobby would turn him Mercer and keep him safe. Jackie was to be the youngest Mercer. The youngest was always given the most protection from his elders.

"Second, don't forget me," I said, making Bobby promise to not forget me, the same way Jack and I had promise all those months ago. Sure, I had other siblings, but Bobby was my real brother. Jerry and Angel were good friends, and we were close, but Bobby was inexplicably my brother. We don't fight the way other siblings do, over petty shit. We fight over important things, but usually, in the end, we're able to talk it out. We don't let it drop we work it out. The only on-going problem between us is him always going away.

"Never," Bobby said simply.

"And then lastly, promise to visit. Promise to not leave me hangin' all alone in New York. Hunt me down and remind me that deep down inside, no matter how much New York as brainwashed me with everything I love about it, that I really belong here, with you guys," I said. I knew how much I loved New York. I loved it all. The smell, the sounds, the lights… if I could combine that with the people I love from Detroit, that would be incredible. Not that I hate Detroit, it's just I love New York more.

"I'll visit," Bobby said. I knew from the tone of his voice that he wasn't lying to me, but I couldn't refrain from sticking out my pinky so we could seal the deal properly. We linked pinkies and kissed our thumbs right as my mother banged on the door. I threw myself onto Bobby and hugged him as tightly as I could manage. He kissed me on both cheeks and my forehead, whispering that he would keep his promises and I would always be his girl. I would always be his Pixie Stick. I smiled at the nickname and allowed him to escort me out of the house that had been my safe haven from my mother. My mother could haunt Gran's house, but she would never get her nasty claws on the Mercers, and for that, I was grateful.

Bobby turned me around to face him once we had walked out to where the car was parked. Jack was waiting in the car for me, ready to become my pillow for the short ride to Gran's old house. "I'll miss you," he offered, trying to be strong.

"I'll miss you more," I replied, trying to sniff back my tears. Mercers don't cry, and I wanted to pretend, for just a moment, that I was a Mercer.

"I'll miss you most," Bobby whispered with a half smiled as he bent down slightly so that he was level with my 5'6 frame. He was about three inches taller then me but he had this way of making me feel as though I was the same height as he was.

"'Kay," I said simply, accepting the fact as I allowed him to engulf me in another hug before my mother honked the horn and startled us both. It was clear Bobby wanted to curse my mother out and I just smiled, giggling slightly, knowing how he was feeling.

"It's not goodbye," Bobby started.

"Just see ya later," I finished. That's what we always said whenever Bobby went off to play hockey for months at a time or I left seeing as though summer never lasted forever and I needed to go home for school. Bobby smiled and hugged me one more time before opening the car door for me.

"So see ya later Cinderella," Bobby said softly, a smile on his face.

"See ya later Bobby. Try and keep all your teeth kay? I love your smile just as much as I love Jerry and Angel's," I said with a smirk on my face. Hey, if he could tease me, I could do the same. His smile widened as he shut the car door. My mother pulled away from the block, hardly giving me time to open the window so I could stick my head out and wave goodbye before she turned the corner, causing the Mercers and my friends disappeared from sight. Maybe was just see you later, but I didn't know how much later, so I wasn't going to take any chances. I fell back into my seat as my mother closed the window and set my head on Jack's shoulder, my eyes closing immediately in order to rest them a bit during the short trip home. Jack just wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer. We sat in silence the entire time, not wanting to give my mother a chance to eavesdrop, knowing we would have time to say our proper goodbyes when we finally arrived at our destination.**

* * *

A/N: I'm so sad. Goodbyes are the worst. I am sorry if this chapter dragged out a bit... but I guess it had to happen. **

**Love and Luck, **

**Gaby**


	10. Leaving

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

****Chapter 10:**

"So," Jack said as he walked into my room, his overstuffed duffle slung over his shoulder. I smiled at him and his duffle. That duffle was nearly empty when he walked into my life, and now, as he was temporarily walking out of it, it was filled to the brim.

"So," I whispered as I zipped close my second bag. I looked up at him to see a tear falling down his cheek. Seeing him cry made me break down. I was nothing the minute Jack broke. "Jack," I choked out as I started to sob.

"Oh May," Jack said as he dropped his bag and walked over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. I clung onto him tighter then I ever had before, hoping that maybe if I held him tight enough, I would never have to let go. I know I sound like I'm crazy for thinking all this but I don't know what else to do, say or even think. These crazy notions just kept running though my head.

"Jack, I don't wanna go," I said childishly as he pulled away. What was I supposed to say?

"I know Trixie," Jack said. I smiled softly as I remembered how he came up with that name. I had always been in love with the cartoon Speed Racer. I told Jack that when I was little I used to sit up in front of the television, watching that show whenever it came on. It was a part of my daily schedule. I wasn't only in love with the show; I was in love with Speed himself. Sure he's a cartoon, but it didn't matter. Trixie was the girl who Speed would have gone and fucked had it not been a cartoon for little kids. Jack always teased me about it.

"I know you know," I said with a sigh. "So what do we do?"

"The only thing we can do," Jack started. I gave him a look. "No, not run away," he said as he tugged at the end of my hair.

"Damn you," I muttered. I was hoping he would go along with my craziness, but it seemed he had another plan. "So spit it out, what you got?" I asked, unsure of what he was going to suggest.

"We'll write, instant message, call, e-mail, text and even meet up in dreamland," Jack said with a shrug. When he saw my look of disappointment he said, "I know, it's not enough, but that's all we can do. I want more for us, but I can't see any other solution."

"This sucks," I said lamely as I spun the bangle Anna had given me around my wrist idly. Looking at that bracelet reminded me even more of all the sadness I was feeling because my mother was such a bitch. I mean, it's not like I didn't know going home was the only option I have, but it doesn't mean I've accepted it. I haven't had the time. It's taking all I can do to not be sad that Gran's dead or even mad at Gran for leaving me.

"I know," Jack said with a sigh as he lifted my face so he could look me in the eye. God I love his eyes. I was melting inside all over again.

"Jack," I whispered as he leaned towards me.

"Yeah?" he murmured as his face got closer and closer. What was going on here? Was he going to kiss me? Was that okay? What am I talking about? Of course that's okay. This means he likes me! But I'm leaving. Shit, I'm leaving. He had to pick now to do this? This is so uncalled for. I hate my mother.

All these thoughts stopped running through my head the moment Jack's soft lips met mine. My eyes fluttered close and, well, I know its cliché, but fireworks went off in my head. Jack's lips lingered on mine for what seemed like a million years, but when he pulled away, it felt like it had only been for a millisecond. I wanted more.

"Jack," I breathed, not knowing what to say or think.

"That seems to be the only thing you can say," Jack replied in a husky voice. I didn't respond to that, I just pulled him in and kissed him again. I wanted more and I was going to get more. That was all there was to it.

"So I guess this makes me Speed, huh?" Jack said, his eyes dancing happily. I laughed. For the first time since I found out Gran had died, I full out laughed and he was laughing with me.

Once we calmed down, I said, "Yeah that makes you Speed."

"Good," Jack said as he pulled me into his arms. I leaned into his chest and started to talk.

"Jack, what do we do now?" I asked. "I like you. I like you a lot I suppose, but we're 14 years old and I'm moving back to New York," I said dismally. This sucks a lot more then it did only five minutes before. Five minutes ago, it was bad because I had to leave Jack, my very first best friend, but now it sucked because I was leaving Jack, my very first best friend and would-be boyfriend.

"I know, but I had to let you know how I felt before you left," Jack said sheepishly. He clearly didn't think this one all the way through. I didn't care. Knowing he liked me was more then enough to fill my heart with joy. Maybe now when I got home, knowing Jack cared for me the way I cared about him, I would be able to stay sane.

"Will you wait for me?" I asked. I knew it was a lot to ask of him seeing as though he had only just kissed me and we were only 14. "Shit, that was stupid," I said before he could respond. "What I meant was that, I really like you. You're basically my first crush. I know we're both gonna crush on other people and wanna go out with other people. I mean, I know, in reality, it's going to be a while before we see each other. With my luck, we won't see each other until I'm 18 and I run away from home. So basically what I'm saying is, will you keep me on hold? You go and you date as many girls as you want, do whatever you want but don't forget me. Don't forget this," I finished, hoping he understood.

"Yeah, I will," Jack said with an amused smile.

"Good," I said as Jack kissed me again. Man, my first real crush, my first real kiss, my first real best friend… it was all so insane, but I wasn't complaining. I like the 'so insane' factor.

"So you're going," he said as he pulled away from me.

"Yeah, in about ten minutes," I said, looking down at my watch. Regardless of the fact that I liked the 'so insane' factor, it really did have such a horrible time to show up.

"Well, this is for you," Jack said before being down and pulling a picture frame out of his duffle. It was almost identical to the one I had given him, except there were two pictures. One picture was of me, him, Bobby, Jerry, Angel, Ma and Gran and the second was of me, him, Fox, Seth, Liam, Matt, Sander and Anna.

"Thank you," I said, my eyes misting over. "Can we just pretend that I'm not going for a few minutes? Just pretend that Gran's downstairs, baking cookies and we're up here, just talking and doing homework like we used to?" I begged. I was happy now that I knew Jack liked me and I liked him, but I would give it up if only we could go back to the night before when everything was okay.

"I wish we could May," Jack said sadly as he sat down on the floor and pulled me down after him.

"You miss Gran too?" I asked. He nodded, grief filling his eyes. Gran had been the first to take care of him. She had been the first to feed and clothe him properly. She was the first to not physically and mentally beat up on him. But now she was gone and Jack knew that at least for a few days he was going back to the group home. He hadn't wanted to tell me but I had asked when we were still in the car and my mother had told me before he could make up a lie.

"I know," I whispered. I didn't want him to go to the group home. I wanted him to come home with me. My mother would never let that happen though. My mother simply hates most things that I love and the fact that Jack was an orphan really didn't help. My mother was of the opinion that orphans were unwanted for a reason and she would have nothing to do with them. I wanted to kill her for even suggesting that my very best friend was worthless. I was even going to go over to the Mercers, tell Bobby and have him to do something about her, but I knew I had to pack up and not be silly. I knew we had to go and I knew I would never, ever tell Jack what my mother had told me, simply because it just wasn't true and it never would be.

"So we're just gonna sit here like this for the next five minutes?" Jack asked as he tugged at his necklace.

"I dunno what else to do," I whispered. "I mean, what can we say or do to make this better? What can we even say or do knowing it's the last five minutes we'll have together for a while?" I asked.

"You sure you got everything?" Jack asked with a resigned sigh.

"Yeah," I said as I shut my eyes, pressing my ear up to his chest. His rhythmic heartbeat was so comforting at a time like this. So much so, that I was about to fall asleep after all the tears and excitement.

"Bree's all packed away?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," I murmured. I had at least convinced my mother to allow me Bree. The ginger cat would come home with me and be my responsibility. No one else was going to take care of her for me, as my mother had so graciously informed me, but that was the way I liked it. I didn't want my siblings, mother or father to even think about touching my one living reminder of Detroit. Jack just kissed the top of my head in response.

I looked up at Jack, shifting my position slightly, only closing my eyes as he leaned in to kiss me. This time it was different. This time Jack slid his tongue across my lower lip, timidly begging for entrance. I only hesitated slightly from shock. How did Jack know all this? What were those Mercers teaching my boy? Not that I didn't like it, but still.

I know that people say kissing is just swapping spit, especially French kissing, but honestly, it's nothing like that. Maybe when it's someone you have no real attraction to or something like that, but when it's someone you like, someone you like the way I like Jack, it's something so sensual. It conveys the feelings we can't express with words, because the right words haven't been invented yet. We sat kissing for a bit until my mother yelled for us to come downstairs. She was driving Jack to the group home and then we were going to the airport.

When I pulled back, he amazed me once again, especially since I was looking right into his incredible eyes. They were so full of care, kindness, fear and sadness. "C'mon," Jack muttered as he detangled us and got up. He pulled me up after him, taking all three of our bags even through my protests. I picked up Bree's carrier and followed Jack down the stairs. We walked right past mother, to the car. After stowing all our things in the trunk, we settled ourselves in the back seat with Bree's carrier to my left and Jack to my right.

Through the whole ride to the group home, Jack and I snuck each other knowing looks and short kisses when my mother wasn't looking, wishing that we were still in my room, making out, as my old friend, Liz, used to put it. I never had any opinion on this making out, since I had never done it before, but now that Jack had broken my making out virginity, I realize making out wasn't the right phrase to describe what had transpired between me and Jack. It didn't do justice to what had happened and how I felt.

My thoughts were interrupted when the car stopped again. I looked out my window to see this group home Jack was to stay at and gasped. How the state allowed this place to remain standing, let alone in operation, was beyond me. The building itself was small and in a state of disrepair. The windows were broken and bricks were missing, not to mention the crumbling foundation. I was about to protest when Jack put his hand on top of mine and gave me a pointed look, saying it was okay and he had been through worse. My eyes began to water as he looked at me. Sure, he had been through worse but that didn't mean he had to go through the pain that I knew this house would bring him.

I got out of the car after Jack and helped him take his bag from the car. My mother honked the horn as to tell me to hurry it up and I was more then just a little tempted to flip her off. I didn't, knowing it would agitate her even more and then she would be harping on me the entire flight home. I just wanted to get on the plane, turn on my iPod and block out anything that woman might have to tell me.

Jack and I walked to the front of the group home. I could hear loud noises of people yelling and throwing things. I even heard a crash as something broke from deep inside the building. I turned to see that my mother had taken out her latest trashy novel and was reading it instead of watching us. I quickly took the opportunity to kiss Jack as passionately as I could.

"Well I guess this is bye for now," he muttered as we broke our kiss.

"Yeah, bye for now," I echoed, looking up at him. Over the few months we had living together with Gran, he had surpassed my height of 5'6. He was now 5'8 and still growing. I threw my arms around Jack's neck and hugged him as tightly as I could while the tears fell down my cheeks. This was it, the last stop before the airport and home. This was my farewell to Detroit.

"I'll miss you," Jack said, hiding his face in my shoulder as he rubbed my back soothingly.

"I already miss you," I whispered softly into his ear. We pulled away from the hug and he kissed me one more time before turning and knocking on the door of the group home. I ran back to the car with tears streaming down my face. My head was screaming at me to run away, not back to the car, but I knew I couldn't. I knew she would find me, no matter what I did. I slid into the car and watched Jack through the tinted windows of the back seat. I wouldn't bring myself to roll down the windows and wave goodbye like I did when we were leaving the Mercers. I could draw this out anymore.

I watched as a slightly overweight, angry looking woman opened the door of the group home and pulled him inside. I wanted to scream at her for rough-handling my best friend, my Jack, like that. I knew Jack staying there was a mistake from the moment we pulled away. I knew that the Jack I would see again in God only knew how many more years would have a few more scars from his stay at this building, not from hockey and messing around with the Mercers. All of this was enough to make me sob silently in the back of the depressing black car my mother was driving to the airport.**

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A/N: TADA! I like writing Jack and Megan fluff moments. **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	11. Surprise Visitors

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

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Chapter 11:**

_4 Years Later_

"Meg, stop it," Lexie said in annoyance as we sat down to eat brunch. It was the day before my birthday and Lexie was trying to get me into a better mood before my party.

"I don't wanna," I said half-heartedly.

"It's been four years since you left Detroit. You have got to stop torturing yourself," Lexie insisted. I knew that I had to stop hurting myself by dwelling on my time in Detroit, but I couldn't. When I got back from Detroit, for months I was depressed. My dad and my friends all worked hard to get me where I was today, but I still had my moments.

"I just hate birthdays when they're not with Bobby," I said sadly. Every year before my time in Detroit those four years ago, Bobby would come to New York for my birthday. He would take me out and we would go crazy. That hadn't happened since I left Detroit. Hell, I hadn't seen or heard anything from Bobby or any of them since I left Detroit. It wasn't because I didn't want to see them; it was because my mother had cut me off. The minute I got home my mother got me a new cell phone number and made me change my e-mail address. She intercepted all the mail they sent me and wouldn't let them see me when they visited. Hell, she straight out pulled me out of school when they were around so she could keep an eye on me. I was only able to send one or two letters a year to Anna and the Mercers through my dad to tell them I was okay.

God, I loved my dad so much for all his help. He knew I was miserable when I got back. He understood because he hated my mother to. He couldn't divorce her though. Trust me, I know, I begged him a million times. He said it would kill his mother and of course, there was the matter of propriety. He did everything he could to make it better for me. The best was when my dad was able to get the letters from Anna and the Mercers before my mother found them in the mail.

"I know you do. Hey, didn't your dad say he would get another letter through to them tonight?" Lexie asked trying to cheer me up. I wasn't sure if the letter made things better or worse. I mean, when I wrote them and when I received something from them, my heart ached to be with them even more then usual, but the knowledge of being in contact with them made up for it a little bit.

"Yeah, daddy said if I can sneak into his office at 11:30 tonight with the letter then he'll get it done," I said with a sad smile. My mother was usually drunk, or at least tipsy, and asleep by 11. We waited the extra half and hour just in case.

"So you should write it now, just so you don't get caught later," Lexie said pulling a notebook out of her messenger bag as I pulled out my favorite pen.

"Thanks," I said with a small smile as I quickly scribbled a note saying I was okay, I missed them and I loved them all so much. My notes never said much more then that. What else was I supposed to say? Should I tell them about school? That was too menial. Should I tell them how depressed I am? Yeah, right, make them worry about me. They can't do anything about it so it would only make things worse for all of us. I kept it short and sweet because I knew they knew how I felt about all of this.

"I can't understand why you just don't visit them. I mean, as of tomorrow, you're 18 years old. You're legal. There's nothing your mom can do to stop you, Meg. Just up and leave. I know you want to go, so go. You're dad will help you. Instead of a letter, just show up," Lexie urged. She had a point.

"I just can't," I whispered. She might have had a point, but I couldn't bring myself to go. I was too scared of the bad things that could happen because of my leaving. And not only that, but I'm also scared of what would happen when I got there. I'm scared of how they would react. What if they didn't want me there anymore? Not to mention when I had to leave. That would be awful. I don't think I would be able to deal with that. Instead of telling Lexie this, I hid my true reason behind a few fake ones. "I can't leave my job at the JCC right now, they need me. As it they're short on staff. Daniel and I are two out of four who work in the art room everyday and we watch and help up to 40 kids on any given day.

"Also, I can't leave my dad with those heathens. I'm his little girl. If I went missing all of the sudden, I don't want to know what would happen. And Bree, I couldn't bring her with and my mother would kill her if I went missing. Plus I still have school with all that work and college applications. I just have too much to do and too much to take care of," I said, rambling on. I would have continued if Lexie hadn't stopped me by holding up her hand.

"Alright, alright," Lexie said, shaking her head. I think she might have known the real reasons, but I wasn't about to ask her if she did. That conversation would be long, in depth and way too scary for me.

"Alright, look, I'm gonna go home so I can shower and change before I needa get to the JCC. Thanks for taking me out, hun. I promise to not be such a downer tomorrow," I said with a small smile as we each threw down a few bills to pay for our food.

"Don't make a promise you're not sure you can keep. Just try you're hardest, alright?" she asked as we walked out of the bakery. It was my favorite bakery. Lexie knew a pastry or two from there could make me feel better in a flash on a regular day, so on a day like today, it might help at least a little.

"I will," I said with my first real smile of the day. Lexie knew me all too well.

"Later babe. Tell Dan and Gryff I say hi," Lexie said. Gryff was Daniel's best friend as well as our friend as well. Daniel had been dragging Gryff to the JCC for the past few days but I knew it wouldn't last. Gryff wasn't much of a painter or a lover of kids. He was more of a percussionist. He spent most of his time with his drums. Daniel made Gryff join us because the other two teens that worked with us, Betty and Allie, were on a trip with their school for another week or so. I can't understand how anyone could hate the kind of thing I did at the JCC. I loved the kids and the painting. In fact, in my free time, when I wasn't running, I went there to paint my own stuff. It was my little niche, my place to get away from it all and blow of some steam, just me, my iPod, and the smell of wet paint.

When I got home, I quickly hopped in the shower. After drying myself off, I walked to my room singing as show tune softly under my breath. It took me only a few minutes to throw on a v-neck white Hanes shirt over an orange camisole and my favorite dark-wash jeans. They were just as paint splattered as my white slide on Keds that were so reminiscent of the shoes I had decorate with Jack all those years ago. I put on my regular jewelry and a little bit of make up before slipping on my coat, picking up my messenger bag and running out of the house so I wouldn't be late. In fact, I wanted to be early so I could do a little of my own painting before the class got there.

It took me twenty minutes to get from 82nd and Park to 77th and Amsterdam. I listened to my iPod the whole way through. I don't know what I would do without my glorified music player. I mean, I would use a CD player, only, but just having one CD isn't enough, even if it's all I'll listen to. I like the security of having anything I could ever want with me, just in case. I figure that with all the insecurities I have, I should have at least one small, simple thing, like music security, to ease my mind at least a little bit.

I entered the JCC and waved to the security guard who sported a broad smile on his face. "Hey Benny," I said cheerfully. There was something about the overweight African-American 50-something year-old man that just made me feel a lot safer and better about everything.

"Hey there Meg," he said returning and greetings.

"Are Daniel and Gryff here yet?" I asked, pausing by the metal detector. Benny would let me go past without checking my bag, except I liked following protocol. I liked Benny knowing that I was clean and all that, even though he already trusted me.

"They just walked in a few minutes ago," He said as he took my bag, checking it quickly as I passed through the metal detector. Sure I liked following protocol but I also loved metal detectors. Weird, I know, but I always thought they were so cool. I also liked x-ray machines. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to know I like the airport. That's a good thing to, seeing as though every break from school I have my mother ships me on some other trip. Sometimes it's to Florida, sometimes to California. Occasionally it's Bermuda or Jamaica. A few times it was Puerto Rico so I could practice my Spanish. I was really surprised when she sent me to Vermont and even more so when I was sent to Canada. She never liked sending me up north as it brought me closer to Detroit and those people. Her words not mine. I would never call them those people. They're so much more then that.

"Thanks Benny," I said cheerfully.

"Anytime," Benny replied as I walked towards the stairs with a little hop in my step. By the time I got to the fourth floor, I wasn't winded or panting at all as I knew other people would have been. Four years on track will do that to you. I joined track after getting home, needing something to relax me and blow off steam. Needless to say I didn't have the JCC back then. I only started here a year earlier. Yet, even though I found the JCC, I still kept track. The JCC wasn't open around the clock the way the park was. I usually went jogging early in the morning before school to avoid my crazy mother who was up at dawn planning something or another, somehow not hung over even the littlest bit.

"Hey guys," I said, my broad smile fading into something a little smaller as I dropped my messenger bag on the radiator and shed my coat, putting it on top of my bag. Gryff was sitting on one of the tables that had been pushed off to make room for the many art easels. Daniel had laid out a large piece of paper on the limited empty floor space. He had put on his paint-covered shoes and was dragging his feet across the paper in a nonsensical pattern, his jeans dragging along a little bit as he went.

"Hey Meggy," Daniel said distantly as he focused on his piece. Gryff smiled his typical cocky smile and waved. I rolled my eyes discretely. Sometimes I couldn't stand Gryff and his ego. It's a little nauseating. Daniel wasn't as bad as him. If you actually had something in common with Daniel, like I did, conversation came easily and it was very comfortable. It was just that Daniel was very one-mind-set when it came to his art. He couldn't start up a conversation if he was concentrating on his piece.

"Daniel, the kids'll be here in fifteen, you better wrap up whatever you were working on," I said as I walked over to my easel in the back of the room, uncovering it to reveal the drawing I had finished the week before, just as the kids had finished their drawings. I had started to paint but I wasn't as far along as the kids in the class seeing as though I had to walk around and help them. I knew telling Daniel to pack up while I was just revealing my project was a bit hypocritical but I could still work on mine when the kids got here and he couldn't. Daniel's art attracted too much attention and because of that we had decided it would be best if he didn't work on it during the class.

"Alright. By the way, when can I see yours?" Daniel asked curiously as he took off his paint shoes and set them on the radiator to dry a bit. He was busy setting his piece on the drying rack and putting on his real shoes when I mustered up what I thought to be a good enough answer for Daniel.

"Well, when it's finished, I suppose. It's kinda special," I said as I looked at the picture again. "It's for an old friend of mine," I added. I knew Ma would love it when I was finished. She always loved all the artwork that her foster kids and adopted kids gave her. Not that Bobby or Angel did much drawing, but Jerry did a little, seeing as though he went into construction and architecture and Jack had some amazing sketches he used to show me. I'm sure he's shown Evelyn some of his work.

"Oh, all right," Daniel said with a shrug. That's another reason why I liked Daniel. He didn't ask so many questions. If I said I didn't want him seeing it until it was done, he would accept it without another word. It was hard to find someone like that.

Daniel and Gryff sat talking for a bit as I painted, only stopping when the first girl, Nina, walked in. She had been coming to art class for as long as I had been a teacher and came almost every day. Not many kids stayed in the class that long. They usually grew too old, moved onto something more professional or quit.

"Hey Nina," I said as the brunette walked in and dropped her things next to mine. She walked over to me and peered over my shoulder. She was the only one I allowed to see my painting. Gryff and Daniel ignored that and continued to talk. Well, Gryff hadn't seen. I knew if he had he would have asked a lot of annoying questions. I knew Daniel saw but he knew Nina and I were close. It wasn't only because she was such a smart and talented 13 year old. In fact, it was more because of her childish and innocent nature that was tinted with strife. She reminded me so much of Jack when I first met her that I took her under my wing, taking care of her as I would have taken care of Jack if I had been allowed to stay with him. I suppose I was taken from him just so I could be here to help Nina.

"It looks good Meg," Nina said as she pushed her dark hair out of her naturally tanned face and unusual, almond shaped sea green eyes.

"Thanks," I whispered. Her opinion meant a lot to me, just like mine meant a lot to her. She padded over to her easel, tied up her hair and quickly got to work. I knew her piece almost as well as I knew my own. As more kids started to enter the classroom, I copied Nina and put up my hair as well. Daniel and Gryff hopped off the table they were sitting on and started their rounds, helping kids get started.

It wasn't long before the class was over. The time spent in that class flew by so fast for me. I watched all the kids file out of the room, chatting about their projects and numerous other topics. "Meg, you wanna come catch a movie with me and Dan?" Gryff asked.

"Naw, I'm gonna go home. I have some work I gotta do and I gotta finish Dorian Gray," I said as I slid on my coat and slung my bag over my shoulder.

"You sure? We're going to see V for Vendetta," Daniel added, knowing how badly I wanted to see that one.

"I'm sure," I said after a little bit of hesitation. My rational side won out. Damn that rational side. I would have loved to go with them. "I'll see it later with Lexie or something," I said with a shrug. The three of us walked out of the room discussing other comic books and movies, only stopping as we got to the lobby and heard Benny having a rather loud argument with someone.

We turned the corner to see Benny was fighting with a petite brunette. "Just let me in!" she exclaimed in annoyance. I frowned. That voice was awfully familiar.

"You don't need to go in, she's right there," Benny said jabbing his hand in my direction. The girl turned around and looked in my direction.

"Anna?" I asked in surprise.

"Megan!" Anna cried in relief as she ran up to me and hugged me tightly while Daniel and Gryff shot me looks of confusion. I returned Anna's hug with as much intensity as I could considering my own uncertainty. I knew the boys must find this odd, but I found it odder.

"Anna, what are you doing here?" I asked as I pulled away from her. I could see the strain on her face, but even if I didn't, I knew it had to have been something big if she had come all the way here from Detroit. I mean, maybe sending letters wasn't the most efficient way and she couldn't call, but if she had taken the time to make this trip, it must be something important.

"Megan, Jack's in trouble," Anna whispered as fear filled her eyes causing a ominous tremor to run down my spine.**

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A/N: Dun dun dun…**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	12. Car Rides and Packing

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

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Chapter 12:**

"Anna, what do you mean?" I asked worriedly.

"Jack's in a lot of trouble Megan," Anna whispered. "I've tried to help him and so has Ms. Evelyn. Bobby's away and no one can reach him, Angel's in the marines so he can't do anything and Jerry tries to be around but he doesn't always have time, with Camille and everything. We keep trying to help but he keeps shrugging us off. I didn't know what to do.

"I went to your house and rung up. Thankfully, your dad answered. He told me where you were and I came right here. You need to come back with me. He's killing himself," Anna said, her voice low and furious as her eyes watered.

"What do you mean, killing himself?" I asked hurriedly. "What's he up to?" I couldn't imagine what Jack could be doing that was so bad. "You're gonna have to start this one at the beginning."

"Well, a year ago, a cousin of Jack's surfaced. Evelyn tried to keep him away from them but it didn't work. He went there and, at first, they seemed okay but later they abused him and some other awful stuff so Evelyn got him out. He seemed okay enough for Bobby, Jerry and Angel to get on with their lives, but then, about two months ago, it started to get bad. He was going out early and coming back late at night. Even then he still hung out with us but a few weeks ago when he started ditching us more and more until he started to completely ignore us. He's been losing weight and not sleeping. Sometimes he doesn't come home for days. We all try to help him when we see him but he won't listen to us. He won't talk to us or even look at us," Anna exclaimed, tears flowing down her cheeks freely.

"God," I whispered as I put my hand on Daniel's arm to steady myself. Gryff and Daniel had stood with me during Anna's whole spiel. Personally, if I were either one of them, I think I would have walked away at the first sign of a girl crying, but I'm glad they didn't. I really need someone to grab onto. "I don't understand what happened to him. He was okay… I thought he was okay, Anna," I said, shaking my head as I covered my mouth in shock with my free hand.

"So did I," Anna said, her eyes locked on her feet.

"Did you talk to my dad about going to Detroit?" I asked after a moment of thought.

"Yes. He said with your mom gone and your siblings out of the house, you can go. He's already bought us tickets for later today," Anna said nodding her head sharply.

"My mother's out of town?" I asked in confusion. I didn't even have to bother wondering why my dad bought me and Anna tickets. He liked to spend his money in anyway he could to make me happy. I could tell Anna fought my dad, but finally gave in, knowing I would need her right then and there and that she didn't have money for another ticket. I'm sure she did as many odd jobs as physically possible and saving the cash just so she could get to me as fast as she could.

"True story," Anna said, nodding again. "Your dad said she took off to Germany this morning after you left the house," she explained, her earrings jingling as she continued to bob her head up and down agreeably.

"Anna, stop nodding, you're making me dizzy," I said as I shut my eyes tightly for a moment and allowed a slightly false smile spread across my lips. I had to take a break to try and take it all in and keep myself from crying. I'm so worried about Jack that all I wanted to do was break down and cry like Anna had, even though I knew I couldn't.

"Sorry," Anna said, returning the smile.

"Shoot, sorry, Anna, this is Gryff and Daniel, my friends and fellow staffers here. Dan, Gryff, this is Anna, my best friend from Detroit," I said quickly introducing my friends. Anna shook hands quickly with Daniel and Gryff.

"Dan, can you give me a ride to my place?" I asked hopefully. "I know you guys were going to see V for Vendetta, but this would get me home twice as fast as anything else," I rambled.

"I was just about to offer," Daniel said with a smile. "Gryff, you should go to the theater. Get us tickets and I'll meet you there in 20 minutes, alright?"

"Sure. Good luck, Meggy," Gryff said sympathetically. He gave me a tight hug before he walked out of the JCC, waving at Benny before he left to make his way to the nearby theater. Daniel, Anna and I hurried out of the JCC to Daniel's car. It took Daniel a record time of 6 minutes to get to my apartment building. I hugged Daniel as best as I could, seeing as though he was still sitting in the drivers seat and we were getting out the back, and kissed him on the cheek as a thank you for driving us.

"Good luck!" Daniel called after us as we rushed into my building. We just caught the elevator and I wasted no time jabbing my key quickly into the penthouse keyhole. I turned my key roughly and tapped my foot nervously as the elevator ascended to the 40th floor.

"Megan, relax. The plane doesn't leave for 5 hours. You dad even set up for a car to pick us up because he can't take us. That's plenty of time to pack your stuff and Bree, say goodbye to your dad and get to the airport," Anna coaxed.

"Yeah, sure," I said, trying my hardest to stop my foot from tapping just as the elevator doors slid open. I tugged my key out of the keyhole and walked into my foyer. "Daddy!" I yelled as I walked into the house.

"Hello darling," my father said as he walked into the foyer to meet me. He hugged me tightly and led Anna and me into the living room. "You better get packing. I put Bree's things together for you. I think Bree's lurking around in my study somewhere. I'll get her for you," my dad said as he kissed my forehead and then left the room.

"All right Anna, c'mon," I said as I led Anna through the dimly lit hallways until we reached a white door at the end of one of the many hallways we had turned down.

"So there is a dead end to this place," Anna said nodding appreciatively. I elbowed her as I opened my door. "Wow, I think I like this dead end," she said, her eyes widening. I blushed slightly as she looked around my oversized bedroom. It made me feel a little uncomfortable, to be honest. Not only that, but it made me feel small and lonely, which is something that's usually hard-pressed for an apartment to accomplish. I wish I had someone to share it all with, other than Bree. More specifically, I wish Jack could be sharing it all with me. But I've never been too ungrateful of what my father's old money had given me because it's everything I've ever wanted aside from my surrogate family and friends in Detroit.

"It's a little big," I confessed, "It would be so much better if the apartment were smaller and my mother and siblings were never here to ruin it," I added with a frown as I pulled out a bag from under my bed and started to stuff it with clothing and important cosmetics and toiletries that came either from my closet or from the bathroom next door. After a few minutes, I was finished.

"That's all?" Anna asked as she looked around my room.

"No, wait," I said as I went and pulled a small jewelry box out of one of my desk drawers and grabbed my teddy bear off of my bed. I bit my lip thinking hard and then remembered to grab my necklace off of my bed post. "Now I'm finished," I said as I clasped the necklace, a silver locket that Bobby had given me when I was ten years old, around my neck. I had replaced the pictures with ones from about the time I had left Detroit and I just hoped I would be able to put in new ones sometime soon. I usually wore it all the time but I had forgotten this morning because I was late to meet Lexie.

"Good," Anna said as she zippered shut my bag and slung it over her shoulder. I smiled and followed her out of the room.

"Daddy, we're finished," I called before turning to Anna. "You only brought your backpack, right?"

"Yeah, I figured I was only coming to get you and if I needed to, I could steal something from you," Anna said with a shrug as she handed my bag to me and resettled her bag so that the straps weren't cutting oddly into her shoulders.

"As always," I said with a smile. I still had a drawer full of clothing I had stolen from my Detroit friends that I kept whether they were ripped or still in one piece. I tried not to open it, but once in a while I did. It wasn't so good for my mental health, but I couldn't help it sometimes.

"Alright, let's get movin'," Anna said as we entered the living room.

"Daddy!" I called again. "Bree!" Bree sauntered into the room with my dad following her, carrying her things.

"I'm her slave," my dad said with a shrug, motioning at the tabby cat.

"You know you love her," I said as I bent over and picked up Bree.

I buried my face in Bree's fur and whispered, "We're going home baby." Bree mewed happily. If I could mew happily, I would also. I missed Detroit like nothing else. "I'm just gonna call Lexie. She and Daniel can spread the word that I'm not around for a bit," I said as I jogged into the kitchen and picked up the cordless phone, quickly dialing Lexie's number.

"Hey," Lexie said as she answered the phone.

"Hey girl, it's Meg. Listen, I'm taking a trip. I just wanted to tell you I was leaving. I'm not sure when I'm going to be back," I said quickly, not leaving Lexie time to say anything.

"Where you going?" Lexie asked after a moment of trying to take in all that I had blurted out in the last thirty seconds.

"Detroit. Jack's in trouble, Anna came to get me," I said shortly. Lexie knew of all my friends in Detroit and their stories. She knew Anna coming to New York was a big deal, just like I knew.

"Alright hun. Good luck," Lexie said with a sigh.

"Thanks doll, I gotta go catch my flight. Tell the others I'll see them soon," I said. Lexie replied with the affirmative. She was about to say goodbye when I slowly hung up the phone. I really didn't care to hear it. I wanted to get on the plane. I wanted to see Jack, to help him. And mostly, I wanted to go home.

* * *

"You ready?" Anna asked as we boarded the plane.

"I'm always ready," I said as I threw my messenger bag over my head and pulled my clothing bag closer. Anna was holding Bree's carrier. For some reason, she was allowed on the plane with us. When we got on the plane and got seated, we found out why. No one else was really on this plane. To be honest, I couldn't blame them. We were going to Detroit over winter break. Who went to Detroit over their winter break? It's ridiculously cold in Detroit this time of year, but I was prepared. And not only was I prepared, I loved it. Winter is the best of all four seasons by far.

"Good," Anna said as we sat down and buckled our seat belts.

"Anna, how bad is it with Jack? Is he cutting again? Is it drugs?" I asked, tugging at my locket.

"I know he's on drugs. I've seen him smoking cigarettes. I also saw a few cuts on his wrist while he was still hanging out with us but he might have stopped considering the drugs he's taking. He took up guitar after you left and he was good. He wrote, sang, played and everything. He was happy-ish after getting back from that group home. But now, after his time with his cousin… it messed him up bad. I mean, I don't even think he even bothers coming to school anymore. Like I said, he doesn't eat anymore. I think he gets what little sustenance he gets from the drugs. It's awful. When I do see him, it takes all my effort not to go up to him and smack some sense into him or start crying. Evelyn's so hard on herself too. She thinks it's all her fault. She blames herself for not being able to help him. Most the times I see her she's crying too. It's terrible," Anna said morosely.

"Anna…" I trailed off, unable to find the words to say. What did a person say in a situation like this one? Had anyone really been in this situation before? Every detail, every last bit made this case different. Bad different. I usually like different, it's a change of pace, but bad different... it scares me more then anything else.

"I know," Anna whispered. And she did know. She wasn't bull shitting me. She was going through the same thing. We were both losing Jack and Ma. I mean, Jack was killing himself and bringing Ma down with him. We both felt the same fear and worry. You know, even though we were going through horrible things, I was grateful that we were going through these horrible things together. I could be going through this alone. Sure, I had the boys from Detroit, but they were somehow more detached from it all. I don't know how they did it but I wish I could have done it too so that I wouldn't be feeling so anxious and scared right now.

"I missed you Anna," I said. I think she understood that I didn't mean your plain-old 'I missed you.' Sure, I missed her, but I also missed having my best friend. Anna and I were always on the same page when we were younger. We didn't even need words to convey how we felt, most of the times facial expressions were enough for anything we could possibly ever want to say.

"I missed you too babe," Anna said with a small smile. "Listen, I'm gonna try and catch some shut eye. I sorta didn't get any sleep last night." I returned the smile and nodded in agreement. I was tired too. The two of us drifted off to dream world, only to be woken up abruptly by the bump that signified that plane had touched down on the ground.

"Well, welcome back," Anna said after gathering our things and quickly beginning the process of exiting the airport. I took a deep breath of Detroit air the minute we left the building. I shivered from the cold air as a broad smile appeared on my face. For a minute I forgot that I was here because of bad things. I forgot I was 18 years old. For a minute, I was still 14, about to drag Jack out to meet up for a pick up game with the Mercers and our other friends. It was only when Anna tugged my coat sleeve to get me to move to the taxi line that I remembered how much things had changed in four short years.

"Yeah, welcome back," I said softly as Anna and I clambered into a taxi after waiting for only a few short moments in the cold.**

* * *

A/N: Here we go...**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	13. Tree Houses and Late Nights

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

****Chapter 13:**

"So now what?" I asked as I threw my empty bag and Bree's carrier into the closet. Once everything was put away, I plopped down on Anna's bed and slumped against the wall.

"We go find the boys," Anna said with a mischievous smile. I nodded as a smile to match hers appeared on my face. If I was going to go through hell during my stay in Detroit, I might as well have some fun with the guys while I can.

"Where are they?" I asked happily as I pulled myself off Anna's bed.

"The tree house," Anna replied.

"The tree house? What tree house? I want a tree house!" I exclaimed.

"The tree house in the backyard. The boys built it soon after you left to keep busy and to make me feel better. They thought something fun and cliché would pull me outta my 'I miss my best friend' funk," Anna said with a shrug.

"Well then lady, its tree house time," I said as I skipped out of the room with Anna following me. We ran down the stairs and out the back door, laughing all the way. Once we stepped outside, I froze. My jaw dropped in shock as I took in the wooden house that was sitting on one of the lower branches of the large oak tree. The boys did that? Jeeze, what else could they do that I didn't know about?

"Yeah, I know," Anna said with a smirk as she clambered up the ladder. I waited a few moments until she disappeared before following her. I wanted to surprise them.

The boys were facing the other way when I poked my head into the tree house. I took a quick look around to find that the house was just as nice on the outside as it was on the inside before stealthily climbing into the house and sneaking up behind Seth.

"Guess who?" I whispered while covering Seth's eyes as the other boys jumped and turned towards me. I could see the effort it took them to keep from yelling out my name and ruining my fun.

"I dunno!" Seth cried after a moment of thought. His hands reached up and surrounded my wrists, feeling my bracelets and watch. "Anna's in front of me and the only other person who has that kind of bangle is… Meg?" he asked in disbelief.

I nodded even though I knew he couldn't see it, my smile growing by the second as I pulled my hands away from his face. "Megan!" he yelled as he threw himself at me, knocking me backwards in the process. It didn't take long for the other boys to pile on as well.

"Off I say!" I shouted through my laughter as I felt what must have been Anna sit down on top of the pile of boys. "Guys, no really, get off!" I yelled, still laughing, causing them to laugh harder and roll off of me. The seven of us lay on our backs, laughing for a bit before we pushing ourselves upright.

"Megan, what the hell are you doing here?" Liam said as he leaned in and gave me a proper hug. I smiled as each of the boys followed in suit, giving me tight bear hugs.

"I'm here because Anna brought me here," I said with a shrug. Anna would tell them her intentions if she wanted to.

"And I brought her here for Jack," Anna finished. I guess she wanted to. I suppose it was best to be straight forward with the guys. I mean, what am I hiding from them? I love them and I trust them with my life. I guess it's been a while, so maybe I'm feeling a little insecure.

"Yeah," Fox said sadly. My smile faded. Jack had befriended him and given him confidence when Jack hardly had any to spare. It must be killing him to see Jack like this.

"But enough of that for now. Tell me about what I've missed. Which of you losers has girlfriends?" I asked with a sly smile. The frowns on everyone's face faded as they started to laugh. Well everyone aside from Fox, that is.

When Sander started to talk, I was only half listening as I moved myself next to Fox, who had situated himself up against the wall. I leaned against him and set my head on his shoulder, trying to convey that I knew how he felt as I refocused my attention on what Sander was saying. I knew Fox received the comfort I was trying to send his way when he slipped an arm around my shoulders. I smiled and snuggled into him.

Turns out, all the boys except for Sander were emotionally attached to a girl. Anna was single as well. They spent a lot of their time in the tree house together, but they didn't need to tell me that. The large, one room wooden shack of a tree house was filled with different snacks, a few sleeping bags and stacks of books and board games. There was also a battery-powered boom box in one corner of the room that had three beanbags surrounding it. My last tip off were the backpacks in the corner with a large duffle next to that pile that was filled with clothing and other small things. It was cramped but cozy, just the way we liked things.

"So what now?" Liam asked as they all turned to me, giving me control over the events of the night.

"Well, it is really late," I said as I looked out one of the small windows and noticed the sky was black and splattered with stars. It had been getting dark out when we clambered into the tree house, but now it was completely dark. "So I think we should just go inside, watch a movie and then crash in the living room," I continued as I stood up.

"Sounds good to me," Seth said as he stood up next me and started down the ladder. I followed him with everyone else trailing behind us. We all ran upstairs to change in to pajamas before meeting in the kitchen to make popcorn and dig up some other snacks.

I plopped down on the couch with Seth on one side and Liam on the other. I set my legs on Liam's lap and leaned back against Seth's chest. Seth wrapped an arm around me while Liam covered my cold feet with his warm hands. I shut my eyes and let out a content sigh as Anna put in the DVD.

When the movie and candy were finished, Seth, Liam, Sander, Fox and Anna were all fast asleep. "So Matty, should we wake them up? I mean, I could stay here all night, I'm pretty comfortable," I said as I smiled tiredly as Matt.

"Well, the others don't look so comfortable," Matt said hesitantly. It was true. Anna was lying on the floor with her head on Sander's lap. Sander was leaning against the armchair that Fox was curled up on.

"But I don't wanna get up," I whined as I set my hand on top of the hand Seth had set on my stomach. It was true, Seth was a very good pillow and Liam still had his hands on my now-warmed up feet.

"I know you don't," Matt said with a thoughtful look. "But I really do think we should wake them."

"Fine," I said. "But we get to have fun waking them."

"I never said we couldn't," Matt said with a playful look. He crawled over to Anna and tickled her awake, covering her mouth with his free hand as she jerked awake. Anna quickly caught on and her look of surprise faded into one of mischief. She got up and pounced on Sander, successfully waking him. I lay on the couch in my same position watching as Sander went to wake up Fox.

"You're turn," Anna whispered to me. I groaned as I kicked Liam in the stomach, causing him to jump, effectively pushing my feet from his lap.

"That wasn't nice," Liam said as he pieced together what had happened.

"I know," I said with a smirk.

"What about Seth?" Liam asked.

"Aw, but he's so cute," Anna remarked. I snorted. Sure Seth was a cute kid but come on. There was a little bit of drool coming out of his wide-open mouth.

"Liam, technically, it's your turn," I said. A smirk appeared on Liam's face as he held out a hand for me. I took it and he pulled me off of Seth.

"Now I'm cold," I said sadly, now lacking the body heat Seth had provided for me.

"Poor princess. I guess New York has finally gotten to you," Sander said as he opened his arms for me.

"Thank you Sandy," I said cheekily as I tumbled off the couch and fell onto his lap. His long fingers quickly found my ticklish spots as instant karma for calling him his least favorite nickname and I had to bite my lower lip to stop myself from laughing outright, which would undoubtedly wake up Seth before Liam could.

Soon, Seth was awake and we were all heading upstairs to grab our sleeping bags. I took my old one out of Anna's closet and hurried back downstairs, eager to claim my spot next to Anna with Seth's feet meeting mine. Liam was on the other side of Anna and opposite from Anna and Liam were Matt and Sander. Across from where Jack should have been next to me lay Fox.

I looked over to Jack's empty spot and tears came to my eyes. He was supposed to be there. He wasn't supposed to be out there, alone and cold doing God knows what. By the time my tears really started to drip down my cheeks, everyone was fast asleep. I carefully slipped out of my sleeping back and draped a blanket that was on the couch around my shoulders as I tried to stop my tears. I walked into the kitchen, flicked on the lights and went to the sink to fill up a glass with water.

It was only when I heard shuffling footsteps that I nearly dropped my glass. Thankfully, I managed to set down the glass and turn to face whoever had followed me into the kitchen.

"God, you scared the crap outta me," I said as I processed the fact that it was just Liam.

"Sorry," Liam said as he ran a hand through his short black hair.

"It's alright," I whispered as I tugged at the locket that hung off my neck.

"You miss him," Liam stated as he noticed the tear tracks I hadn't wiped away yet.

"Don't you?" I asked as the tears began to spill over again.

"Of course I do," Liam replied honestly. "C'mere." I walked over to Liam and set my head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I sobbed into Liam's chest for what seemed like hours. If I was this scared and hurt about Jack doing this to himself, I couldn't begin to imagine what the boys and Anna felt. They saw him do this to himself. They were there and couldn't stop him.

"Li, how bad is it. Anna told me most of it but… just how bad?" I asked once I had managed to stop crying. I pulled back from Liam and stared right into his grey-blue eyes. I wanted to truth and I knew Liam was a good liar except when he was looking someone right in the eye.

"I…" Liam started. I knew he was struggling, trying to force himself to lie and lie good. God, how bad off was Jack? "It's really bad. I… Meg, I once found him passed out in the park. I got him to wake up and he pushed me away. I tried to talk to him. I told him if they were leaving him behind after he passed out, they weren't really his friends. He wouldn't listen to me. He was just so angry. That was something like a week and a half ago. He looked anorexic and dazed back then. Now he looks like he wants to die. He looks like he's slowly killing himself," Liam said bluntly.

"I'm scared I won't be able to help him," I said softly after a few moments of silence.

"I know what that feels like," Liam said softly.

"Liam…" I trailed off as I set a hand on his arm comfortingly.

"I know," Liam said as he ran his free hand through his hair again.

"It's okay. It's gonna be okay," I said. I didn't honestly believe my words but I tried to make it sound convincing. Unlike Liam, I was an excellent liar. I had perfected the skill over the past four years, seeing as though I had to lie by butt off to my friends about why I couldn't go out on Saturday nights.

"Yeah, maybe," Liam said as he took my hand and led me back to the living room. I turned off the lights as we left the kitchen and allowed Liam to drag me back to the darkened living room.

"Night babe," Liam said, giving me one more hug before settling back into his sleeping bag. I dropped my blanket on the couch where I had found it, a shiver passing through me as the heat escaped my body once more. I quickly slid into my sleeping bag and looked over at Liam. I could see him looking back at me, his eyes sparkling in the dark. I mouthed good night and he smiled softly at me before I lay back down and drifted off to sleep.**

* * *

A/N: Sleepy time… -yawn-**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	14. What Are You Doing Here?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.**  
**

* * *

Chapter 14:**

After hearing the muffled noise of the doorbell sounding off inside the Mercer house, my insides tied together in tighter knots than before. I had woken up this morning with them and they had stuck with me all throughout breakfast and my shower. Even as I fed Bree her morning meal, which I do before anything else, the knots were forming. I wasn't even sure why they were there, but I was hoping that when the door opened, they would go away.

"Megan, is that you?" Jerry whispered in surprise as he got a good look at me.

"Hey Jerry," I said with a shy smile as Jerry cried out joyfully and pulled me into a tight hug that lifted me off my feet. "Jer, put me down!" I yelled through my laughter. I didn't even notice the tension in my stomach dissolving.

"God, girl, what are you doing here?" Jerry asked as he set me down.

"Is Ma here? I kinda only wanna tell this story once," I said honestly.

"Naw, she went out to get some groceries," Jerry said incredulously. "But c'mon in outta the cold," he added, suddenly remembering just how cold it was outside.

"Thanks," I said as I slid off my jacket, scarf, hat and gloves as I entered the house.

"I guess Ma's lessons on how to dress properly for this weather stuck on you," Jerry chuckled as he watched me hang my things up on the coat rack.

"Yeah, well, what can I tell you?" I asked with a shrug as I rolled up the sleeves of my sweatshirt. It was always nice and warm in the Mercer house. "Any runts running around?"

"We have a few Ma's filterin' out. You wanna meet them?" Jerry asked.

"Why not?" I asked with a shrug.

"Callie, Henry, Jessie, Tommy, get down here," Jerry called.

"Four? Where are you housing these kids?" I asked in surprise. "Unless Ma added on a secret room that I can't see from the outside, there're still only the regular five bedrooms."

"Well, Bobby's not here and Angel ain't around either. I'm livin' about fifteen minutes away now, so really it's just Jack's room that Ma keeps for him, if he ever comes home," Jerry explained darkly.

"There'll be plenty of time for you to be angry when Ma gets here," I whispered to Jerry as the four foster children bounded down the stairs.

"Yeah Jerry?" a petite, Asian girl asked.

"This is Megan, an old friend of the family. Meg, these four delinquents are Callie, Jessie, Henry and Tommy," Jerry said pointing to the four in turn. Callie was the Asian girl while Jessie, nearly her polar opposite in just about everything, was a tall, athletic-looking and blonde. Henry had chocolate brown eyes and was the scrawniest thing I'd ever seen while Tommy had red hair, like mine, and a broader build.

"Nice to meet you all," I said.

"So what're you doin' here?" Tommy asked, a slight Irish accent showing through.

"Tommy!" Jerry scolded.

"Jerry please, from what Ma told me, you were much worse. Besides, Ma'll take care of it," I said waving my hand casually, lazily brushing off the complaint. I had complete faith in the older woman. She worked miracles.

"Me an' Tommy must've been here for two months. We ain't leavin' anytime soon," Callie spat. I saw the livid look in Jerry's eyes. It surprised me at first, seeing as though Bobby was the violent one, not Jerry. Jerry was generally docile. I'm not saying he hasn't gotten into his fair share of trouble, but as the three older Mercer boys go, Jerry's the best behaved. Luckily, I snapped out of my thoughts and disbelief in time to stop Jerry for totally lashing out on the teens.

"Hey, Jer, Ma got any of her chocolate chip cookies lyin' around? I'd like some while I wait if she does," I said quickly, setting my hand on Jerry's arm to get his attention. I knew Ma always had cookies lying around, so it was a foolproof plan. Besides, this way I got baked goods.

"Yeah, o'course," Jerry said, tearing his gaze from Tommy and Callie.

"Ms. Evelyn's been baking up a storm since Jack went missing," Henry whispered sadly, piquing my interest. Perhaps Henry would be someone to pester about Jack's whereabouts.

"Ma always bakes when she's upset," I said, the comment mostly directed Jerry as I remembered the many times Bobby, Jerry and Angel had been thrown in jail or were stuck in the hospital over night. Jerry's glare broke as I made this comment-the blush that was forming on his dark skin was nearly invisible.

"Ok, so, cookies," Jessie said with a weary look on her face. Callie and Tommy were the tough kids, Henry was the shy one and Jessie hated conflict. I guess Jessie thought all conflict lead to violence. Poor girl, she's probably seen a lot of that.

"Yeah, cookies," I said with a wide smile as I took Jerry by the arm and led him into the kitchen, silently signaling to the others to follow us. The kitchen was the smallest room in the Mercer house, which I always found odd. In my head it should have been bigger, like the one in Anna and Seth's house, seeing as though Ma always had more mouths to feed then anyone else. I grabbed the cookie jar and reached into the fridge for some milk. Jerry and Jessie took down the glasses while the other three didn't even bother squeezing into the kitchen. Instead they opted to go straight into the dining room.

"So, how old are you four?" I asked curiously after we were all seated and the milk was poured out.

"I'm 15," Jessie said softly. "Callie's 12, Henry's 9 and Tommy's 13."

"Oh," I said. Callie seemed a lot older then 12. I also couldn't believe the age gap between Henry and Tommy. I didn't know what I thought it was, but I definitely didn't think it was four years.

"Yeah, oh," Callie spat.

"Listen girl, you shouldn't be worrying about going to a new home. You're 12. I've seen Ma filter out tons of kids that are more Jessie's age then yours. Also, I dunno why, but 12's a golden number. It's like, they're not kids, they don't need so much attention and can handle themselves, but it still looks like you're doing a good thing by taking in an orphan. The only reason you haven't been placed is because Ma didn't wanna put you with some schmuck like your social worker might have. You wanna know why? Because Ma cares more then some social worker does. She loves all the kids who come through her house, no matter how long they stay or if they love her back. And because she loves you, she'll pass you off only to someone who will love you just as much as she does. So suck it up and wait, because you're in a good kinda limbo here and what's on the other side is for sure not worse," I said casually, as if I made a speech like this one everyday.

A smug smile grew on my face as I saw Callie drop her head in shame. Damn right. That girl needed to learn to stop being so bitter. I could also see the other kids with a shadow of hope in their eyes. I just hope to God that that wasn't all just total bullshit because I'll feel really bad about it later if it was. I noticed Jerry's reaction to my speech soon after studying Jessie's face for a moment. He looked at me with understanding in his eyes. It was as if he always knew what I had said to be true, but couldn't really verbalize it the way I had.

"Jerry? Callie? Tommy?" I heard Ma call from the front hall as the door closed behind her. "Henry? Jessie? Anyone here?" She continued. I smiled deviously at Jerry and motioned for all of them to stay seated. "Wanna give me a hand with some groceries?" Ma asked with a tone that was colored with both a request and a command.

"I'll help!" I called enthusiastically as my chair scraped against the wood floor. I ran into the front hall as quickly as I could to find the familiar face I had come here to see.

"Megan?" Ma asked in disbelief when she saw me.

"Hey Ma," I said with a smile growing on my face. Her hair had grayed a bit while her worry and laugh lines had deepened, but other then that she was still the same ol' Evelyn Mercer.

"Megan Olivia Steel, get you behind over here and give an old lady a hug," Ma said as she put down the grocery bags that had been up to her chin and hanging off of her wrists to pull me into a tight hug. I laughed as I wrapped my arms around her in return and squeezed her back just as hard.

"You're not that old, Ma," I whispered into her ear, causing her to laugh and release me from the hug.

"What in God's name are you doing here?" Ma asked as Jerry came into the hall with Tommy following to get the bags Ma had brought in with her. They each took two, leaving Ma and me to carry one each.

"How the hell did you carry all of this?" I asked, ignoring her question for the time being.

"Bobby and I weight trained together back in his boxing days and I never let up," she joked, allowing her question to drop for now, knowing I would answer later. That was part of the reason I loved Ma. She would never force me to tell her anything I didn't want to. She knew I would come to my senses and tell her in the end. I don't think we had one secret between us back when I was younger. We always had a special girl's day out the first day of my visits to Detroit so I could catch her up on what she missed. After that I would come over almost every afternoon and keep her updated. Even when I was 14 and I refused visit because Bobby had left and I was mad, I couldn't help but call Ma every so often and tell her about my life. She was good at listening, keeping secrets and giving advice.

After everything had been put away and the four foster kids were cleaning up upstairs, Ma, Jerry and I moved to the living room so we could talk. "So what are you doing here?" Ma asked again.

"Anna's been saving up some cash. Once she had enough, she flew to New York, found me and told me what's been going on with Jack. I was ready to hitchhike out here after she told me, but my dad bought both of us a one-way ticket to Detroit, first class. I spent last night with Anna and the boys, but I woke up nice and early today so I could come here and talk to you guys before heading out to find Jack," I said simply. There really wasn't very much story other then that.

"You're not going to find him," Ma said softly.

"That's what Jerry said. You guys think he's missing. Anna didn't seem to think so. Not to mention, the impression I got from Liam was that Jack's hanging around the area. Also, Henry, you're foster kid also seems to know something. I'm gonna talk to him before I leave," I said. It might not have sounded like I was asking for permission, but I was. A quick nod from Ma was all I needed to know that any questions directed at Henry were okay with her.

"Well, if you think you can find him…" Ma trailed off tiredly. She was giving up too. I mean, I can't really blame her, it has been a whole week since she's seen Jack and the last time she did see him, he looked like death itself, if I'm to believe Liam's description.

"I can find him," I said, my face hardening in determination.

"What do you say to us girls getting some ice cream, huh?" Ma asked trying to mask her exhaustion and upset with a smile. I knew she was happy to see me but she was also a little preoccupied.

"Time to do some catching up," I said as I stood up. Ma followed my lead, leaving Jerry to turn on the television and lounge around until we got back.

"Bye Jerry!" I called as I zipped up my coat and opened the front door, allowing Ma out in front of me, slamming the door behind us before Jerry could reply.

"How are you going to find him?" Ma asked as we walked to the local ice cream parlor.

"Ma, don't question my abilities," I said with a smirk.

"Megan," Ma said seriously.

"The same way you find anything. You look for it, ask if anyone's seen it and pray you have luck on your side," I said with a shrug as I linked arms with her. "Please don't worry. I know I can do this." I was pretty sure I could at the very least.

"What I know is that you're my best hope for him now," Ma said shaking her head.

"C'mon Ma, can't I get a few smiles? It's my first whole day back and I wanna talk about the last four years," I said. Ma opened her mouth to say something but I stopped her. "I wanna talk about the last four years but not about Jack's last four years. Our last four years. We'll talk about Jack later on our walk home. Scout's honor," I said raising my right hand as Ma smiled at me.

"Whatever you want," Ma said with a shrug. "So tell me about New York." I smiled as the grin on her face widened into her usual bright smile returned. I just hoped to God I could find Jack and help him, not just for me, Fox or Liam, then for Ma.**

* * *

A/N: Yes, let's find Jack…**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	15. Caught

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 15:**

"So, Henry, I know you know something. You wanna tell me what?" I asked curiously as we sat down at the dining room table together.

"Nuh uh," Henry said shaking his head, his eyes filled with fear.

"You don't be scared of me. Henry, it's just that I need to know where Jack is and I think you know," I said honestly.

"I do know where he is, but if I tell you, I'll just start a lot of really bad trouble for everyone, especially Ms. Evelyn," Henry said, fear still apparent in his eyes.

"Honey, I swear, nothing bad will happen to anyone, least of all Ms. Evelyn. I love her just as much as you do and I don't want anything bad to happen to her. But the thing is, she's hurting so bad knowing Jack's out there, possibly dying. How can you watch someone you care about hurt so much?" I asked, hoping it would carry some weight, or at least enough to get him to spill something worth knowing

"I don't want her to hurt…" Henry trailed off softly. There it was. My in.

"And it's not just Ms. Evelyn who's suffering. Where ever Jack is, he's hurting too. He's probably confused and scared and angry. I wanna help him but I can't do that if I can't find him. I need you to help me," I begged.

"I can't," Henry said so softly that I could barely hear him.

"Please, Henry, I need you to help me. I won't get anyone in trouble. And if someone needs to get into trouble, it'll be me," I said, my forehead scrunching up, trying to think up anything that would get him to tell me something. Anything.

"I… it's my half brother. Josh Reddin. He's the head of this gang. He's bad news-a drug dealer, hustler and I'm pretty sure he's killed a few guys. Jack got involved with him while he was staying with his cousin. I don't know the whole story there, only Jack does. When he came home from his cousin, he was pretty messed up but Ms. Evelyn took care of him. Then after a bit, Josh found him and hooked him up. Jack's been messed up ever since and he hasn't been around enough for Ms. Evelyn to help him," Henry said quickly.

"Yeah okay, so where's Jack at?" I asked, pressing my luck. The truth is, I could work with what I had, but it would be so much easier if he just told me.

"He's either at the old rink or..." Henry trailed off looking down at the table.

"Henry," I said hedged. I almost had it all and I wasn't going to give up yet.

"You're not going to like it," Henry said warningly as he looked back up at me.

"Tell me." So close.

"Your Grandmother's old house. Some rich real estate guy bought it and no one ever uses it. Josh and his guys used to hole up in there until they got busted. I know that Jack went back after the coast was clear. At most he takes one or two guys with him, but most of the time he just goes alone. Sometimes no one sees him for days. It kinda pisses of Josh because Jack normally buys a lot and pays on the spot. He likes to track his better customers," Henry blurted out.

"Thanks Henry," I whispered. Now it was my turn to look down at the table. I was trying so hard to set my thoughts in order as fast as I could. I mean, first, I was mad that Jack was at Gran's old house getting high. I was happy that Henry had told me where he was. I was also really upset that Jack was a druggie but then I was also excited that I could do something. I knew what I needed to know to find him. Well, to be honest, I was excited and anxious. Now I could find Jack, but what would I do when I did? What would I say? What if he didn't listen? What if he didn't even remember me? God, this was a lot scarier then it was when I had hopped on that plane yesterday. I thought it was going to be easy then. No wonder Liam was so damn upset.

"No problem," Henry said softly as he shot up and ran upstairs to get dressed. Jerry was taking him to his first peewee hockey game and he needed to get ready.

"Shoot," I mumbled as I stood up and went to the front door to get dressed for the outside weather. Back when I was living here a bit more permanently, I had gotten used to the extreme old of Michigan in the winter, but after going back to New York and getting used to a warmer climate, I've gone soft. Ten-degree weather was just too cold for my body to handle without being properly wrapped up.

I went to the old rink first. It had closed down when I was 8. I had one or two memories from it so I wasn't so upset when it closed down, but Bobby and Jerry had been pissed. "I really, really don't want to go to Gran's," I grumbled as I arrived at the old rink. I snuck around back to try and find a door or a window that wasn't barred or chained up. I found a small hole around back and carefully slid carefully and quietly through it.

"God give me the ability to make it through this in one peace," I whispered quickly as I moved towards the sounds of loud music and people talking. "I mean it God. If I get raped or mugged or something I'm going to be very unhappy." Who wouldn't be? I quickly looked up at the leaking ceiling before finding a tiny hole in the wall for me to use as a peephole.

I was able to watch the people in the room for a good 40 minutes before I was caught. I shouldn't have stayed that long. I knew it was a mistake, but sometimes I don't listen to my brain the way I'm supposed to. They say hindsight is 20/20. I hate hindsight. I wish I had more of that foresight stuff. That would be helpful.

"So fire top, what are you doing in my hang out?" a tall brunette that looked something like Henry asked me as he pulled me up to my feet using the collar of my coat.

"Hey there Josh," I said awkwardly, ignoring his question.

"Bitch!" he cried as he slapped me across the face. I buried my burning cheek in my soft glove, trying to hold back the tears. "I tried being nice but that clearly doesn't work for you. I asked a question. Now I'll ask you again and see if you've learned your lesson. Who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing here?" he asked.

"I… I'm Megan Steel and I'm l-lookin for Jack M-Mercer," I stuttered.

"Jack Mercer eh? How do you know him?" Josh asked, interest returning to his face.

"I'm a friend of his," I said before biting my lower lip and shutting my eyes tightly, hoping that another slap wouldn't come my way.

"Vicky, go get Jackie for us why don't you?" Josh asked of one of the darker skinned girls that were scantily dressed and circling me along with a few other guys.

"Sure thing Josh," Vicky said with a seductive wink as she walked off to go find my Jackie.

"If Jack knows who you are then you can go. And when I say go, it means I get to smack you around a bit and have a little fun with you before you get to scamper off. Now if he doesn't know who you are then I'm going to smack you around a lot and then rape you. Then you get thrown in a dark alley and hopefully you'll live so I can find you and fuck you again. If you're any good, that is. If you're not, I might just kill you," Josh said nonchalantly. My eyes went wide as I heard this and this time I bit the inside of my mouth to stop my cries of fear.

"Here he is Joshy," Vicky said as he gently pushed Jack in front of all the other guys who were standing around to see what was going to happen. It was clear they all wanted a show. But all my fears of Josh faded away when I saw Jack. He looked just as awful as Liam said he did. He had deep purple bags under his eyes and his clothes were baggy on his anorexic-looking body. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was matted-it probably hadn't been washed since the last time he had been a home a week ago.

"So Jack, do you know this girl?" Josh asked maliciously as he set Jack in front of me. I looked up at the boy I had once called a friend, my large brown eyes wide and scared. I knew if he couldn't identify me, I was toast. No, not toast, burnt toast-and no one likes burnt toast.

"No," Jack said, his voice monotone. It was clear to me from the look of fear, remorse and shock in his eyes that he did know who I was. He was just too scared of the consequences to say so. I guess it was up to me to work fast and find his bravery for him.

"Jack! Jackie, please don't do this. I know you know who I am. Please don't let them hurt me," I begged softly. He continued to look at me with the same look plastered on his face. "Jack, please." My eyes were filling with fear that was similar to his. I really wasn't ready to be raped and left for dead.

"I… I don't know who this girl is," Jack said shakily.

"Jackson Gabriel Rhode," I began, the emphasis on his last name. I didn't want to do this. I never thought I would ever need to do this, but I really had no choice if I wanted to get out of here in one piece. "I sat and listened to you whine and moan about you're terrible life for months. I kept you away from razors and saved your ass in school more times then I can count on my hands and toes. I made you happy and even when I couldn't be with you, I made sure there was someone around to try and take my place." I paused and tried to figure out how I was going to phrase this next part. Of course, I couldn't so there was one more thing I could try, but then I was done for.

"Jack, even if you can't tell them you know me and I die because of it, I've missed you these four years and I still love you. I know that you probably don't love me anymore. You probably hate me for leaving and I can't blame you. I hate myself for leaving…" I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"Well girly, that was sweet, but Jackie here says he doesn't you," Josh said, his grin widening in glee as he shrugged his shoulder.

"Josh stop," Jack intervened. Oh thank God. I knew he would save me. Okay, I didn't know that, but I had hoped. "Megan... her Grandmother was my foster parent back when I first settled down with a real family. She was my best friend back then. Let her go. Don't hurt her, just let her go," he said softly. All this past tense talk about how I was his best friend was upsetting me a bit, but I would deal with that later.

"I don't think so Jack," Josh said, shaking his head, his nasty grin still pasted on his face.

"Josh, I'm asking you for a favor," Jack said, giving Josh a meaningful look. Josh hesitated, a thoughtful look on his face, before he nodded his head and let go of my jacket, allowing me to fall to the floor. I shakily made my way to my feet, giving Jack a mixed look, one of thanks that contained hints of hate and disappointment in him.

Jack caught my gaze and dropped his head in shame, which made me feel a bit better but at the same time made me want to cry in a dark, quiet corner. However, it was clear to me that here wasn't the place to think about any of this.

As I passed Jack, I whispered for him to meet me at our place at midnight that night. I didn't bother looking back to see what he would say. I would be there and hopefully he would come too. I was pretty sure he would show, but if he didn't, I wasn't sure what I would or could do for him. He has to show some sort of initiative to get better. I can't force him to do something he doesn't want to do, no matter how much I want him to do it.

After that, I ran clear out of the old rink, all the way back to Anna's house. I rushed upstairs, not bothering to notice that all my friends and their respective girlfriends were sitting around in the living room talking about something or another. I also didn't notice the odd looks they shot my retreating form, especially those from the girlfriends. I didn't care. All I wanted to do was get upstairs, take a hot shower, throw on some baggy clothing and bury myself under Anna's duvet with Bree cuddled up to my chest for comfort.

By the time my friends had said goodbye to their guests and made it upstairs, I was already curled up with Bree and covered by Anna's forest green comforter. The blanket over the head was our sign for go away, I'll talk to you when I'm ready. Thank God my friends remembered the signs, was all I would let myself think as tears started to course down my face. I pulled Bree closer to me while begging for the unconscious to take over so I wouldn't have to think about anything else than that until I had to wake up and go see Jack. When sleep did finally come, it wasn't because I had wished it too. It was from exhaustion and Bree's steady purring from where she was curled up next to my chest.**

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A/N: Poor Meg…**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	16. Midnight

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

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Chapter 16:**

It was just past midnight.

I sat on Gran's porch, staring at the sidewalk. Jack hadn't shown up yet, but then again, I hadn't expected him to be on time. I really didn't even expect him to come at all. I might have been hopeful when I saw him earlier, but after my nap I sure as hell had a different outlook on things. After reluctantly waking up, I discovered that I didn't want to go anywhere. I just wanted to ditch. Of course, I couldn't, because that would be hypocritical of me. I hated-no, I didn't hate, I down right loathed when people stood me up. Over the years, I had been known to act bitter towards people for weeks, even months, after they abandoned me. Most of my friends either learned their lessons and waited for me lighten up, or just left for good. Not the best idea, but what can I tell you?

Truth be told, I hated hope. It was a sure-fire let down, especially if you're so full of it that you wanna smile until your face falls off and you dream about how everything will happen. Of course, in dream world, things always work out to your benefit. What sucks most is that everyone knows dream world isn't the real world. So instead of allowing myself to even grapple at this false hope and start to dream up anyways ideas, I went straight to the bitterness that comes at the end of it all.

"Fuck this," I muttered as I reached forward and grabbed a rock off the ground.

I had been watching that rock since I had spotted it five minutes ago. Sitting on the porch step of Gran's house really wasn't very exciting, so I picked up an old habit of mine: I would stare at the ground until a shape formed. Sometimes it was an animal or something from nature but most of the times it was an abstract shape that I found to my liking. The rock got in my way, so instead of shifting my vision, I stuck with it. I studied it so that every last bit of it that I could see was imprinted in my mind.

"It's so interesting that even though I've memorized every bit of this rock that I could see while it was on the ground, the second I pick it up, it's like a foreign object. I suppose the other sides to it were just as important. Weren't they Jack?" I asked curiously as I looked up to find him within hearing range. He had an unfamiliar expression on his face. It made me more than just a little bit curious to know what he was thinking.

"There are a lot of things you'll never know about me, Megan," he began darkly as he walked closer to me so that his tall frame cast a shadow on me. Fucking street lamps, they're so useless.

"Don't I know it," I muttered as I dropped the rock and pushed myself off the ground. "So what the fuck was the stunt this afternoon all about?" I might have sounded blasé about the whole situation as I walked around Jack and went to lean against the flickering street lamp, but inside I was all torn apart. I wanted to shout at him, to beat the answer out of him, but I knew that wouldn't get me very far at all.

"Part of me wanted him to beat the shit out of you," Jack stated simply as he turned to face me. This time he didn't move any closer to me.

"And why's that?" I asked calmly. Someone once told me that if you didn't stay rational in a fight, you were written off as a crazy person who didn't deserve to be listened to. It's true. I nearly lost my head right there. I nearly went and slapped Jack, hard. If I had, this conversation would be over, and that's clearly not what my intentions were.

"You fucking ditched me. You left me, and I still needed you. You knew I still needed you. It wasn't fair then, and it still isn't fair now," he said with a look of hatred on his face.

"You can't be that selfish, Jack. You knew I didn't want to leave. You knew that the last thing I wanted to do was leave. I didn't want Gran to die and I didn't want my mom to be such a fucking bitch. I wanted to be with you," I said sincerely, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, my back still up against the lamppost.

"I'm not selfish," Jack retorted, his eyes narrowing. "You left me in a group home. Do you know how wrong that was? Then I get sent to Ma's, and sure, that was great, but since we both know my luck, that didn't last. After three pretty decent years, right before I was going to be adopted for real, this son of a bitch, Caleb, takes me away. That motherfucker beat me until there wasn't a bit of my skin that wasn't fucking purple. He raped me, Megan. That bastard raped me. And you know what? You weren't there to stop it. I couldn't see you, I couldn't call you, and, fuck it all, I couldn't even write you. I gave up years, back when the only reply I was getting was 'I'm okay'. That's not what I wanted and you knew it," he shot back angrily.

"My mother was monitoring that shit. If she found out I was sending you anything she would have put me on lockdown and you wouldn't have gotten anything at all. It was my little way of saying I'm still alive and thinking about you!" I spat.

"Screw your mother! You're 18 years old, Megan! Some part of me thought you would come running back the moment you could," Jack cried heatedly. "You obviously didn't care about me, so when I saw you today, I thought, 'Why should I care about her? Why should it matter to me?' I didn't see the point in helping you when I was the last thought on your mind." I guess he had a point.

"I cared! God, Jack, I cared. I cared more than you can ever imagine and I still do. I never wanted this. I never wanted to leave. I wanted to be here with you and Gran. I've missed you and Gran so much. I would trade in everything to have that back," I said as I pushed myself off the lamppost and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks. Crying doesn't help. Crying stops the talking. It's like being irrational in a fight. It ruins all of it.

"Well it's too late for that shit. I'm too old to be giving people second chances. It's not worth the time and effort," Jack muttered, shaking his head.

"That's such crap. You see Ma? She's got to be at least three times your age, and all she does it give people second chances. Hell, she gives them third and fourth chances, and if they need them. Even Bobby gives you a second chance if he thinks you're sincere enough," I argued. "And you know what? I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I wanted to be here, but I wasn't and I can't change that. What I can do is change this. I can make you better if you let me. Let me make this better, Jack." I was begging by this point. I really didn't know what else I could do, to be honest.

"No," Jack said. I was about to interrupt him, but he just kept going. "No, I can't let you. I know you have this whole thing against people ditching you, and I guess you passed it along to me. I'm just not as forgiving as you, or Ma, or even Bobby." And that was it. With little effort, he finally unstuck his feet from the pavement and started to make his way down the street, away from everyone who cared about him.

"So what? You're just gonna leave? You're just gonna walk away from me? You're gonna go and get yourself killed like the rest of them?" I yelled after him. I didn't care about waking up the neighborhood. They were probably all passed out cold for a variety of reasons. Either that or they weren't home to begin with. "Fuck this, Jack! You know I didn't want this. If you're gonna keep pulling this shit, you're just asking for something bad to bite you in the ass!" I bit my lip as he continued to walk away. He wasn't stopping.

"Jack! Please don't do this!" This was it. It was the end and I had to tell him everything before it was too late. "Jack, I still love you," I called desperately. When Jack stopped suddenly, I knew it was time for me to run after him.

"You're lying," he said, his voice breaking.

"I'm not lying. I love you, Jack. I knew I loved you the minute I got back to New York and I haven't stopped. The pain I felt everyday when I wasn't here with you was proof enough for me. I got over it as best as I could and I thought I was better, but I knew that if I came back here the minute I turned 18, leaving would be harder than ever. I had plans of coming out here the minute high school ended for college. My dad and I mapped everything out and we were just fine tuning things when Anna showed up and insisted I come back with her," I said. God I hated that little bud of hope that was forming in the pit of my stomach.

Jack turned around and looked at me curiously. I waited, my eyes wide for a response. After a few minutes of just standing there, listening to the damn grass grow, I broke the silence. I wasn't about to wait for this boy to start talking. That could take ages.

"This is retarded," I said as I grabbed Jack by the front of his shirt and pulled his face down so I could kiss him properly. I knew he was probably either slightly drunk or at least hung over right now. I knew he was probably not ready for something like this, especially since I could see his fucking ribs. But I couldn't stop myself. I had to do this. Hopefully, it would only end out being incentive for him to get better.

"Megan," Jack started after pulling away from me. "I should tell you, I'm sorry for saying-" I cut him off before he could finish.

"I know, doll. I know," I whispered. "And I should tell you I'm still sorry for le-" That's when he cut me off, returning the favor.

"I know," Jack said sincerely. "I should tell you that I'm sorry about today and-"

"Shut up and kiss me," I said with a small smile forming on my face. He leaned in and set his lips on mine, my grin fading into the kiss.

After pulling away and setting his forehead against mine, Jack said the one thing I had wanted to hear all night. "Help me?" he asked.

"Did you even need to ask?" I said, my grin returning to my face.

"Did I tell you I love you and I missed you too?" Jack asked.

"You didn't need to, luv, I already knew it. C'mon, let's get your ass home," I said nodding my head in the opposite direction, towards Ma's house.

"Yeah… home," Jack said distantly as he snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to his too-thin side.

As I placed my arm around Jack's waist, I kept thinking about the long road in front of us. This time, I allowed the hope to take root in me. Somehow I knew it was okay this time. Somehow I knew he would make it through this and he would get better, so I succumbed to the potential poison and put my faith in the person I loved most in the world.

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**A/N: This chapter wouldn't have been possible if not for Addy (aka ImAdctd2A3rdClssRkStr), my fabulous new beta.**

**Also, the "I should tell you" lines from this chapter were inspired by Rent.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby **


	17. Jack Goes Home

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

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Chapter 17:**

"You ready?" I asked hopefully as we climbed the stairs of Ma's house. I pulled out my key ring, half waiting for Jack to respond and half listening to the jingling of the many pieces of metal.

"I guess so," Jack responded softly.

"Jack," I said softly, yet sternly as I turned to face him. He looked startled and nervous. I couldn't blame him. "I asked if you were ready. Are you?" He has to be sure. He has to want to do this. He has to be ready, or nothing good will come of it.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Jack said as he let his head drop so that he was staring at his feet once again.

"Good," I replied just as I stuck my key in the lock and opened the door. I unzipped my coat and took off my hat and gloves as Jack slid off his shoes before leading him into the living room.

"Megan, what are you doing out so late? Did something-" Ma began as she looked up from her knitting to see me entering the room. Her jaw nearly dropped to the floor as she laid eyes on Jack.

"Hey Ma," I said with a lopsided smile.

"Jack," Ma whispered as he eyes widened, taking in the sight of her youngest son.

"Hi," Jack said meekly as he shuffled behind me slightly. I guess I was the only one he trusted for the moment. I was okay with that for now, but we would have to fix that eventually.

"Jack!" Ma cried as she got up and rushed over to give her youngest a hug, her knitting tumbling to the floor as she moved. I could see Jack was very uncomfortable at first from the look he gave me, but after a short, assuring nod from me, he hesitantly returned the hug.

"Oh Jack, I knew you'd come home to me," Ma whispered. I knew she was crying. I knew Jack was crying. I also knew it was time for me to back away and see if anyone else was awake.

I walked into the dining room to see that the four foster kids and Jerry were all sitting around the table, playing a game of cards. "Hey guys," I said cheerfully, ignoring the fact that they were all up at one in the morning playing cards. Stranger things had happened in the Mercer house.

"Hey Meg," Jerry said while the other mumbled their hellos.

"What're you playing?" I asked curiously as I sat down at the only seat that was left, Ma's seat at the head of the table.

"Egyptian Rat Screw," Henry managed to spit out while watching the cards on the table intently.

"Really, well I do believe I rock this game," I said with a smirk on my face as I reached out and smacked the pile that Jessie had just put a card on top of. It was double jacks.

"What the-?" Callie began as everyone looked up at me in shock.

"But we shouldn't be playing games right now anyways," I said as I proceeded to put down a card, starting up the game again as if I hadn't done anything strange.

"Why not?" Henry asked, humoring me as he put a card down on top of mine, continuing the game.

"Jack's in the living room," I said shortly as Jessie put down a card, and Jerry quickly placed his on top of that.

"What?" Jerry said as he shot up, his cards spilling all over the table as they slid from his hands. Tommy, who was next to go, had an irritable look on his face. It was clear to me that he really couldn't care less if the president was in the next room. He just wanted to play cards.

"You heard me," I said coolly.

"No, I don't think I did!" Jerry exclaimed. I smirked as I noticed Henry jumping out of his seat and hurrying into the living room, not bothering to ask questions.

"Yes you did. I said Jack's in the living room. Now I think you should follow Henry's lead and go see your brother," I said, leaning back in my chair as I tossed my small pile of cards onto the table. With that, everyone but Jessie got up to go to see what was going on.

"So he's back?" Jessie asked as she collected the cards so she could put them back where they belonged in the neat pile they had found them in.

"Yeah, he's back," I said, dropping my cool demeanor for a moment as sorrow filled me.

"He's in bad shape, isn't he?" Jessie asked as she put the cards in away drawer and sat down next to me.

"Yeah, he's is," I replied softly. I could feel the worry and fear seeping into my body.

"And Jerry's not too happy with it, is he?" Jessie asked as we both jumped at the sound of the back door slamming loudly.

"Apparently not," I said with a deep sigh as I pushed myself out of my chair with some help from the table. "Listen, do me a favor, go get the younger kids and shepherd them upstairs. They can all ogle at Jack later. He doesn't need that right now."

"Sure," Jessie said with a shrug. "No problem."

"Thanks a ton," I said as I pulled my long red hair back into a messy bun. Jessie just nodded and made her way into the living room, leaving me to follow Jerry.

As I walked towards the back door, I heard Tommy grumble at the injustice of him having to go to sleep. I smiled softly as I opened the back door. My smile disappeared as quickly as it came when I saw Jerry, his back turned to me as he threw rocks at the wooden fence.

"Hey Jer," I said, calling his attention off of the rocks and the fence.

"Hey," Jerry said, his back still facing me.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" I asked bluntly as I zipped up my coat and wrapped my arms around my body, trying to hide my hands as best as I could to keep them warm.

"You know what I'm doing out here!" Jerry responded angrily.

"No, I really don't. Your baby brother is in there and you know he needs you more than anything, yet you're out here, pouting like a two year old for reasons I don't quite understand," I said, explaining exactly how I saw the situation to the older man.

"You wanna know why?" Jerry cried as he finally turned to face me.

"Yes I wanna know why!" I yelled back.

"It's because he's a selfish brat! He left. You saw what that did to Ma. You saw how upset she was. He did this to her. He chose his life on the street, taking drugs. He can't just come back here, expecting for everything to be okay. He said hi to me as if he never left. He can't do that!" Jerry exclaimed.

"Jeremiah Cameron Mercer," I replied, completely floored by his response. "I don't know what's gotten into you. Do you hear yourself? Why can't you understand that he made a mistake? You've made mistakes before, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but never as bad as this," Jerry spat.

"Right, never as bad as this, but you made a lot of mistakes and every time you came home, tail between your legs, Ma, Bobby, Angel and Jack took you back in with open arms. Sometimes bad things happen. Sometime people make mistakes, but you gotta forgive and move on. Besides, you can't hate Jack because he left for a week and hurt Ma because, honestly, Ma doesn't hate him. Maybe if Ma hated him for leaving, you could hate him too, but she doesn't, so you have no right," I said indignantly.

"He didn't just leave Ma, alright? He left me too and it's all my fault!" Jerry muttered as he ducked his head, finally revealing the truth.

"Oh God, Jerry, no," I said, my eyes widening in shock. Who the hell knew Jerry blamed himself for Jack running away?

"It's my fault. I should have done something. I should have talked to him. I should have seen it coming. Bobby would have never let this happen," Jerry said dismally as he leaned back against the fence and sunk down until he was sitting on the hard, cold ground.

"Jerry," I said softly as I rushed over to him and knelt down in front of him, my knees meeting the rough earth painfully. "No, Jerry. You couldn't have known."

"Yes I could have!" Jerry cried out.

"No, you couldn't," I countered, my voice filled with conviction. "Remember the time when Angel disappeared for a few days while with some girl?" I asked him. Jerry nodded, signifying that I should continue. "Remember how Bobby went nuts? He thought it was his fault too. He thought he should have known Angel was gonna do something stupid like that. Do you remember what happened when Angel got home?"

"Yeah, Bobby beat the crap outta Angel until Bobby broke down and started to cry. I think that's the only time I've ever seen him cry," Jerry said softly.

"Too bad I wasn't there to see it," I murmured, causing Jerry to smile. "But, the reason Bobby cried was because he was so worried about Angel. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his baby brother and he was upset that he had slipped up. After a few weeks, Ma finally pounded into Bobby's brain that it wasn't his fault and never would be.

"So now, you have a choice. You could be stupid, like Bobby was, and think this was your fault, becoming totally useless to Camille, Daniela, Ma, Jack and the foster kids as you wallow in non-existent guilt. Or, you could man up, realize this had nothing to do with you and march back in there to take care of your family," I said sternly. I think both he and I knew there was only one answer this ultimatum.

"I know, I know," Jerry said with a sigh as he pulled himself to his feet. He held out a hand so he could pull me up as well and then gave me a tight hug. "Thanks," he added, his wide smile returning to his face.

"What am I good for other then telling you to grow up?" I asked as I gave him a smile to rival his.

"Shut up," Jerry said, punching me softly on the arm as we walked back into the house.

"Right, right. Well, I'm gonna leave you and Ma to talk to Jack. I'll get the story from him later, when he wants to tell me. Tell Ma I've stolen the aero-bed and I'm gonna go camp out with Jessie. It's too late for me to go back to Anna's tonight," I said as we paused in front of the stairwell.

"Alright, have a good night girl," Jerry said as he gave me another hug and kissed me on the forehead.

"You too Jer. Tell Camille I say hi and give Daniela a kiss for me," I said as I started to walk up the stairs.

"Sure," Jerry said, turning away from me and going into the living room to rejoin Jack and Ma. I bit my lip as I walked up the stairs. I was home. Jack would get better. Who knew, maybe Bobby and Angel would also make their way back. Soon this broken family will be pieced back together.**

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A/N: Yay!**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	18. Flashback

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 18:**

It's been three weeks since I brought Jack home and he's not only almost 100 percent better, but I've never been happier in my entire life.

But now that I think about it, as I sometimes tend to do when I have some downtime, I don't really remember so much from the last three weeks, seeing as though they were so hard on everyone. Although, there's one thing that happened that I don't think I'll ever forget: the morning Ma walked in on Jack and me making out about a week ago. Her expression was priceless and so were ours.  
_

* * *

Flashback_

_Jack and I were lip-locked, as we usually were when we were alone and not having one of our serious, very important conversations about the past four years. I mean, it's not like we're horny all the time, but we're not the kind of couple that talk and have all these amazing comfortable silences and that's it. Sure, we have that, but there is a physical aspect. It's more for Jack than me, not that Jack's this nasty, sex-starved boy, but because he's never had that kind of physical, loving touch. He has Ma now and Angel, Jerry and Bobby. He also has Camille, Daniela, Anna and the guys, but none of them show how much they love him by hugging him and kissing him the way I do. Thank God for that, I would have to kill them if they did. So I take care of the more intense physical aspect. The sacrifices I make for love…_

_But I digress. Sure, it's great and all when we're making out, but not when Ma walks in on us. I didn't hear the door creak open but I did hear the loud gasp that came out of her mouth as the doorknob hit the wall. It's not like we meant to keep it from her, we really didn't, but what were we supposed to say? How were we supposed to say it? The right time had never shown itself, really._

_We sprang apart pretty quickly when we realized Ma was in the room and, man, did we have the guiltiest looks on our faces. I didn't even have to look at Jack to know that he was mortified._

"_I… wow… I'm sorry," Ma said with a look of surprise plastered onto her face. She quickly shut the door and it was only when we heard her feet move did I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding._

"_Jesus," I muttered._

"_What do we do now?" Jack asked as I looked at him for the first time since we stopped kissing. His eyes were wide with leftover surprise. I couldn't blame him though. I was still pretty shocked from the encounter as well._

"_I think we should go after her," I said, supplying the only answer I could think of. Jack nodded in response. We quickly untangled ourselves before jumping up and running downstairs. We were very surprised, once again, to find Ma in the living room, talking to Jerry and Camille while Daniela played at their feet._

"_So the two of you are together?" Jerry asked as he turned to us, a knowing smile on his face._

"_Uh, yeah," I said. I knew I was blushing from the burning feeling on my cheeks. I was 18 years old, facing the beautiful music that is the truth of my relationship with Jack and I'm blushing about it! What is wrong with me?_

"_That's great!" Camille cried out, jumping up to give both of us hugs before Jerry could say or do anything. Camille and I had always gotten along famously, even before she and Jerry started to date. _

"_Well it's about damn time," Ma said, her smile broadening as both she and Jerry copied Camille and embraced us, my embarrassment fading in seconds._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Megan, I was wondering if I could ask you something," Callie said softly, catching me as I walked down the hall. I was on my way downstairs to watch a movie with my downtime, but the girl sounded like she needed to talk to someone. About a week ago, a nice family in Lansing adopted Jessie, so now Callie came to me for girl advice. I told her it was okay to ask Ma, but she said something about Ma doing too much for her already. I couldn't say I didn't understand.

"Shoot," I said as I abandoned my course and turned into her room.

"What… what do you do when a guy who you're really good friends with likes you but you don't like him back?" Callie asked cautiously as I sat down on her bed.

"Oh man, this happened to me. It was bad. You have to be very, very careful because male pride is a huge issue in all this. But first I gotta know, do you really not like him?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure," Callie said hesitantly.

"Can you picture yourself making out with him?" I asked, rephrasing my question.

"Ew, no!" Callie cried.

"Alright, well, if you're sure about that, then you gotta turn him down. Has he actually asked you out yet?" I asked.

"No, but I know he likes me," Callie replied softly, her tough girl act fading away, and fast.

"Alright, well, don't just let it simmer and wait for him to talk to you. That's the worst thing ever. It's almost like leading him on, especially if he knows you know. You gotta confront him right now, in person and say, 'I think it's really nice that you like me, but I just don't like you and I don't want to go out with someone I don't like.' But be warned, he's probably going to say something to the extent of, 'Why don't you just try it, it can't hurt you.' You have to stay strong though. You have to say, 'But if I go on that date and decide I don't like you, it will hurt you.' Trust me here, this happened to me and I handled it all wrong. I was scared and confused and now, we're hard pressed to be in the same room together without starting a fight, even though it happened two years ago," I said honestly, everything coming out in a rush as I remembered my horror story from high school.

"Really? God, boys suck," Callie spat.

"I know. Well, except Jack. But other than that, they suck," I said fondly.

"Jack's not a boy," Callie said dismissively.

"Oh, but he is, and I've seen proof," I said teasingly.

"Ew!" Callie exclaimed.

"I'm only joking. I haven't seen proof, per say…" I trailed off.

"Virgin ears here!" Callie yelled.

"Alright, alright," I said resignedly. "Well, is there anyone you do like?" I pressed curiously after a moment of thought.

"There is this one guy and he likes me back. But he's best friends with the guy who likes me. He won't date me because the other guy liked me first and he won't go against his friend," Callie said sadly.

"Yeah, that happened to a friend of mine," I mumbled as I thought back to those awful high school years once again. "I think you gotta deal with the first guy and wait a bit. Let things get back to normal and see what happens. Ride this wave, girl. See if you wipe out or not," I said metaphorically.

"Thanks, I think," Callie said. "I better go take care of things," she continued as she jumped off her bed and slid on her sneakers.

"Good luck. If he starts getting nasty to defend his ego, slap him hard across the face," I called after Callie as she walked out of the room.

"I'll remember that!" Callie yelled back.

Once she was gone, I slid off her bed and continued my journey downstairs. It took me only a few minutes to get to the kitchen where I grabbed a snack and then made my way to the living room. I set my food on the freshly cleaned table and turned on the television. I settled on a movie before lying down on the couch and picking up a cookie. I tried to focus on my movie, but all I could think about was Jack. I wasn't thinking about his gorgeous blue-green eyes or his heart-melting voice. I wasn't thinking about his toned stomach or his floppy hair. And as much as I wished I was, I wasn't thinking about how much I love when he kisses my forehead after I sneak into bed with him at night. I was thinking about the night he told me what had happened to him._

* * *

Flashback_

"_I think it's time I told you," Jack mumbled softly one evening a few days ago._

"_Told me what?" I asked, a bit of effort needed. We were lying on his bed, my torso draped over his lanky frame while his long, calloused fingers ran through my tangled red hair. We were both feeling pretty lazy, to say the least._

"_I think it's time I told you why it got so bad that I ran away and Anna had to bring you back here to find me," Jack whispered seriously._

"_Yeah, if you're ready," I said as I jolted awake and sat upright. I had been waiting for Jack to tell me this for a while now. I was so glad he was ready to trust me with this._

"_I am," Jack murmured as he sat up, facing me, his eyes full of trust, love and a little bit of fear._

"_So after you left, everything was okay, for the most part. Ma wasn't allowed to adopt me right away because those assholes at the adoption agency still wanted to look for other relatives. Apparently they didn't really care about my case and almost forgot about it completely. I mean, I can't blame my social worker, he's got a lot of kids to take care of and I was in good hands at the time. So we waited. By the time I turned 16 I was pretty sure, and so was Ma, that I was just going to have to wait till I was 18 and legal and then pick up the Mercer name on my own._

"_But one day, just after my 17th birthday, my social worker came over. He looked like crap. He said some cousin came and said he wanted me. Jesus, it was literally the worst thing that ever happened to me. He didn't want to take me away, but there was nothing he could do. A week later, I was on the other side of town, in a house I didn't recognize with a guy who I didn't even know existed until the week before._

"_He wasn't so bad. I mean, I didn't have to switch school and I still saw Ma, Bobby, Jerry and Angel, but I wasn't living with them or Ma, and that's what sucked. That didn't last very long though. It wasn't long before Caleb, that's my cousin, started to go out and get drunk. He would come home with a bunch of buddies and their favorite sport was beat the crap out of Jack. They would taunt me, call me names and beat on me like crazy. I wouldn't go to school for days in a row because I didn't want anyone to see the bruises on my face. By that time I was back to my 13 year-old mentality and didn't want anyone to worry about me._

"_It was only when I found myself sitting on the bathroom floor with a razor in my hand, ready to slash my arms up, did I realize this was going too far. I called my social worker and he removed me faster than you can say child abuse. I went back to Ma and she adopted my right away, but it wasn't over. Somehow Caleb managed to escape jail time and he came after me. He beat the crap outta me a few times, only hitting me where no one would see them until one day after school he grabbed me. He pulled me into a van and he… he raped me. He did this for a few days, sometimes bringing friends along, sometimes coming alone._

"_I couldn't tell anyone, especially not Bobby, who was already calling me a fairy. So I made friends with Josh. I got him out of a few scrapes and before I knew it, I was asking Josh to slit some throats for me. He took care of it and I started buy off of him. It seemed fair enough. He saved me the pain of being beaten and raped and I supplied him with the money he needed to keep him happy. I suppose you can guess where it all went from there," Jack finished._

"_God, Jack!" I said, wiping away the tears that had begun to run down my face during his story. I threw myself on him, hugging him tightly. I had been so good through the whole story, not saying a word even when I wanted to and gasping in all the right places. And now, when it was my turn to say something, I couldn't form a coherent sentence. I just wanted to hug Jack and make it all better._

"_Yeah," Jack whispered roughly as he hugged me back._

"_I love you. I love you so much, Jack. Never forget that," I mumbled into his chest as I squeezed him tighter._

"_I love you too," Jack replied as I pulled away from him. "Do… do you have any questions?" he asked hesitantly. God I love this boy, always thinking about me and not him._

"_Just one," I said thoughtfully. "When you asked Josh to do you a favor, back when he caught me at the old rink, what was the favor?" I asked._

"_First I saved his ass and went to jail for a month for him and then I actually saved his life. Jail time and a bullet wound so he wouldn't feel you up. It's also going to get him to leave me, you, Ma, Bobby, Jerry, Camille, Daniela, Angel, Anna, Liam, Fox, Seth, Sander and Matt alone," Jack replied hoarsely._

_I nodded my head curtly and leaned over to give him another tight hug and a soft kiss. "You're too good to bad people," I said softly._

"_So are you," Jack said jokingly._

"_You better not be calling my boyfriend a bad person," I replied, playing along with the joke._

"_Never," Jack said before kissing me softly and lying back down on his bed, holding his arms open for me. I flopped back down on his chest, allowing him to wrap an arm around me and play with my hair again while the laziness flooded my body, this time feeling more content then I did before._

_End Flashback_

* * *

I was so proud of him for finally telling me, I knew it took a lot of guts. I sighed deeply. Jack was out with Ma buying him some clothing while I was left on the couch. I guess mother and son needed some alone time. I smiled softly and turned back to my movie. I didn't mean to ignore Nicolas Cage in "National Treasure" and to make up for it, I watched the entire movie, following every detail, not even getting up to get more snacks.**

* * *

A/N: What's that? TWO flashbacks?**

**Anyway, thanks to Addy for beta-ing this one. Oh, and the bit about imaging a boy kissing you is from Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	19. Déjà Vu

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 19:**

So, my four-week stay in Detroit was pretty much up. I mean, it's crazy depressing and all, seeing as though Jack and I are so totally in love and I really, really don't want to leave my friends. I also really don't wanna leave Ma, Jerry, Camille and Daniela. They're my family, and no one else, aside for maybe my dad. I guess blood isn't as thick as everyone makes it out to be in those overly fluffy fairytales.

I sighed deeply, pulling up some grass that was waving in the wind by my feet. I loved sitting on the front porch steps of the Mercer house. I get to watch the local kids play street hockey while the cold winter air stings my cheeks. Oh, and there's always an added bonus when Jack's sitting next to me with his arm draped over my shoulders. It's been a month since everything fell back into place and, lemme tell you, a month of some tender, love and care can do something amazing to a boy who was once a druggie and practically anorexic.

"What're you thinking about?" Jack asked after hearing my sigh.

"I'm thinking about how much I don't wanna go home in a few days, and you, and how much I love being here with you, just sitting like this and doing nothing else," I said softly as I set my head on his shoulder.

"I love this too," Jack murmured back to me as a loud ringing sound broke through the commotion. One of the teams had just smacked the hockey puck into the trashcans they had set up. I love that noise too. It's so familiar to me. It's also really comforting. When it comes down to it, where there's street hockey, there're Mercers. Where there're Mercers, I'm safe. It's really quite simple.

"What are we gonna do?" I asked curiously as I let my eyes flutter shut, anticipating the intoxicating sound of Jack's deep voice.

"Well, I'm gonna e-mail you everyday through your school account, like we planned. And I'm gonna call you during your lunch hour from a restricted number, even if it's just to leave you a message," Jack began. He was pretty much spouting off everything we'd gone through earlier that week. I didn't really wanna think about going away while I was still here but if I didn't it would come and we wouldn't be ready. "If things get bad or something happens, I try your dad's cell first and if I can't get him, I try one of your friends. I mean, that's all we really can do, isn't it?" he asked. From his tone I knew he was hoping I would come up with a brilliant plan that had never occurred to be before. I was sorry to let him down.

"Yeah, I guess it is…" I trailed off. "I wish it wasn't. I want to stay here. I want to be with you!" I cried out. I bit my lower lip to stop the salty tears from coming, but it was too late.

"May," Jack whispered softly when he realized I was crying. "Babe, don't cry. It'll be fine, promise. We'll get through the high school part of it and then we'll be together. We can do this," he assured confidently.

"I'm so proud of you Jack," I said as my tears subsided. "I mean, when I got here, you were a mess. I mean, I was a mess too, but I didn't really know it. I couldn't show it really, either. But now, you're all collected and better. I'm so proud of you for that."

"And what about you? Are you better now?" Jack asked innocently.

"I guess I am, because I'm with you and you're okay and that's all that matters to me, but I'm not because I have to go home now. I've finally found my place. Sure, I'd miss some of my school friends if I stayed here, and I would call or e-mail them every so often, but when I'm away from Detroit, a call or an e-mail every so often isn't good enough. I need you all the time, in person. I didn't even remember how true that wss until I got back here, but it is. I don't wanna leave you Jack," I said sadly.

"I know it's not fair. I know it just as well as you do, but you have to go back," Jack said. God I knew that was hard for him to say. Just a week ago he was trying to get me to stay and now he was telling me to go? I love this boy.

"No, I don't have to go back. I won't go back!" I said loudly, but not loudly enough for the kids to stop playing hockey and give me a funny look.

"Meg," Jack started hesitantly. "Please, don't tease me like that."

"No, Jack… I'm not… I can't…" I said, trying to explain.

"Shut up," Jack said softly, causing me to smile slightly. "You're going back and that's just the way it is. We'll make it through this a million times better than we did over the last four years. I mean, I don't see how we can't with our full-proof plan and all," he joked lamely.

"Yeah," I said with a giggle, even though nothing about any of this was funny. "Besides, this is only for a few months, not a few years, right?" I asked Jack, a bit of my insecurity infiltrating my voice.

"Right," Jack said in affirmation. I don't know how that one word made me feel that much better, but it did. Somehow it managed to allay all my very real, very upsetting fears. Well, until I get home, that is. Jack's won't be there to make me feel better once I'm home. Shoot, this being away from Jack thing isn't going to work very well for me.

I was about to say something else when I saw Anna, Seth, Liam, Sander and Matt running down the street with Fox at the lead. My eyes first widened with shock and then narrowed with confusion. What the hell were they doing here? Jack and I were supposed to go over to the Kolhegan house later so all of us plus any other girlfriends involved could go grab some pizza and maybe a movie if anything good was playing at the right time.

"Megan!" Fox yelled as he approached us. This was loud enough to stop the street hockey game that was taking place. The kids all stopped playing and made way for our friends to get to us.

"What's up?" I asked warily as Jack and I stood up.

"Meg," Fox started. He was panting so hard from running that he had to double over to catch his breath. Liam, who was lagging behind everyone else, taking his time as he knew running that fast would leave him breathless, continued where Fox left off. Liam was always the sensible one.

"Meg, you're mom appeared at Anna and Seth's house only a few minutes ago demanding to know where you are," Liam said dismally. Liam and I had become even closer over the past few weeks and he knew what my mom being here meant, as did I. It meant I was going home. It meant I was in a serious amount of trouble too.

"Fuck," I mumbled under my breath. "Fuck!" I cried, much louder this time, panic filling me. "No, I'm not… She's not taking me away now. Not yet!"

"What are you gonna do?" Sander asked meekly. His shyness and insecurity around other people never really left him and I knew he was nervous that he had asked the wrong question.

"I'm going to hide. No, better yet, I'm going to stand up to my mother. Where is she?" I asked angrily. It was about damn time I told my mother what I wanted. I needed to stand up for myself. I'm 18 years old for God's sake. I couldn't be scared of this woman forever.

"Sitting with our mom, back at the house," Seth said softly. "I can't believe mom's being nice to her!" he explained, his tone changing from docile to angry.

"Who cares? It doesn't matter now. I have to go do this and it's better if your mom can keep her in one place long enough for me to find her and not the other way around," I said determinedly.

"Then let's go!" Matt cried as he started to walk back in the direction he had come from.

"Yeah, let's go," Sander echoed. Everyone cheered in agreement and before I knew it, I was on my way back to the Kolhegan house with Matt in front of me, leading the way, and Anna and Jack on either side of me. Jack had an arm around my shoulders still and Anna would bump hands with me every once in a while to try and give me that extra confidence boost. I needed to keep up this hype. I needed something to help me sustain all this adrenaline that's pumping through my veins and fueling my anger.

It was only when we got the door of the Kolhegan house that my fear of my mother returned. Thank God Jack saw me hesitate when we got there or I would have broken down in front of my mother, just like I had every time before.

"You can do this May, I know you can. You will do this. It doesn't matter if you go back today, at the end of the week or never. You have to stand up to this woman or she will forever be walking all over you," Jack whispered into my ear.

"Yeah, I guess," I replied, my nerves dulling slightly with his words.

"Remember what you told me a month ago when we were outside Ma's house? You have to be sure. Are you ready?" Jack asked me.

"Yes!" I cried out. God I hated when people used my material on me, but it worked. It got me ready to do this. I knew I could and I would. I've stood up to teachers, friends, my dad, supervisors and so many others. My mother's no different. I need to do this. Not just for me, but for Jack too.

I took a deep breath and allowed Jack to usher me into the house. I might be ready, to some extent, but he still needed to drag me. He knew it and he understood. It's all right, I had to drag him those last steps back then also.

I still had my doubts as I walked into the house, but then, when I saw my mother, looking the way she always did, all prim, proud and full of it, I snapped. I knew I was ready to do this.**

* * *

A/N: Heck yes you are.**

**Love and Luck, **

**Gaby**


	20. The Devil Really Does Wear Prada

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 20:**

"Hello mother, it's so nice to see you back from Europe. Is that a tan I see? Did you stop off in Australia on your way home?" I asked sarcastically. Although, if she thought I really cared where she had been, what she had done or even that it was nice to see her, she was mistaken.

"Megan Olivia, don't take that tone with me," my mother said, her eyes narrowing as she shifted in her seat. I smirked slightly. Her delicate ass clearly couldn't handle the bare, light-colored wood of the chair.

"Now mother, we wouldn't want to argue, now would we?" I asked coyly. I don't know what's gotten into me, but I honestly don't care. I like it a lot and I hope I can keep it up through this whole fight.

"No, we wouldn't," my mother started through gritted teeth. Oh man, did she hate my fresh attitude. "So, as to avoid this fight, I suggest you gather your belongings. We're going home," she spat. And even though her tone lacked room for argument, I continued.

"But mother, I am home," I retorted emphatically. I can pretty much predict what she's going to say next and I wanna hit her in advance. Instead I bit my lower lip to try and hold in my rage. I would be justified in my anger as soon as she spouted off her next bit of bigoted crap.

"With this rag-tag group? I think not Megan. You are to come home with me now. I will not have you living with a bunch of beggars," my mother, Lia, said, her nose upturned at disgust. The gasp of indignation that everyone let out at this comment was loudest from Mrs. Kolhegan. God did this woman make me nauseous. I don't know what I did to deserve a mother like her.

"They are most definitely not beggars, mother. So what if they have less money than us? So what if they don't live in the biggest penthouse in Manhattan? So what if they don't dress like you? You know what? It's a good thing they don't dress like you. You look like a five year old picked your outfit after throwing up on it," I said, a sneer forming on my face. I'm almost positive I heard a soft cheer coming from one of the boys, but I'm not positive.

"Why I never! Megan, if you don't get your sorry behind out that door and into the car right this instant there will be more trouble than you can even dream of," my mother said in a scandalized tone.

"What kind of trouble mother? What are you gonna do to me if you don't get in that car right this instant?" I mocked innocently.

"I'll… I'll disown you and so will your father. You'll get nothing and I'll… I'll have you locked up, whether in jail or in an asylum, it doesn't matter. You'll never see these people again," my mother threatened.

"You're lying," I said, my eyes widening with surprise.

"I don't lie," my mother said as she stood up, her nostrils flaring with anger.

"How would manage that? I haven't done anything wrong," I countered, still trying to fight this losing battle. I mean, how could she put me away if I wasn't crazy and hadn't broken the law?

"I have friends in high places and plenty of money to buy off people who I'm not friends with," my mother said seriously.

"Daddy would never let you!" I cried out. I knew she was telling the truth. I knew she would take care of daddy also, just to get her way. They word 'lose' is not in my mother's vocabulary.

"Your father would have no say in the matter. And if he said a word, he would go with you," my mother said. "Or, on second thought, I could just say he's in denial. You are his favorite daughter, after all. It would be easy to pass off his objection," my mother added. Holy crap, this woman was evil. The she-devil. Satan would be proud.

At this point I wasn't even paying attention to the reactions of the people around me. I was looking at my mother in disbelief while biting my lower lip hard and thinking about my options even harder. What should I do? What could I do? This is such crap.

Finally, I looked to Jack. He had such a sad look on his face. I can't believe my mother could see the look oh his face and still do what she was doing. His face made me want to break out crying, hug him tight and never, ever let go. What sucked most was when Jack slowly, sadly, nodded his head, telling me to go. My heart shattered. The despair over my failed attempt to stand up to my mother combined with my pain from failing Jack was too much. It was all I could to keep myself from outright sobbing.

"I want an hour to pack and say goodbye to everyone," I said, my voice hard.

"No-" my mother started but Mrs. Kolhegan cut her off.

"You will give the girl the time she asks for," Mrs. Kolhegan said in a mother-bear tone. If my mother messed with Mrs. Kolhegan now, I would expect my mother would be dead in just a few short moments. Part of me wanted my mother to object so I could see what Mrs. Kolhegan would do but the other part of me didn't want Mrs. Kolhegan to go to jail for it.

"Fine," my mother said begrudgingly. She turned around and walked swiftly out of the house. "One hour, no more," my mother called over her shoulder as she slammed the front door shut behind her. Mrs. Kolhegan also left the room, patting my shoulder as she went.

"No," I whispered softly as I heard the faint sound of _her _heels clicking on the wooden porch outside. I guess it's true. The devil really does wear Prada. "Not again." My knees finally gave out and I would have fallen to the floor if Jack hadn't caught me, pulling me close to him, efficiently holding me up as I started to cry.

"Trixie, it's aright," Jack said, attempting to use my old nickname to make me laugh. I couldn't. I couldn't think about laughing when I knew I might never see these people again. Well, at least until after my mother died, that is. My mother wasn't supposed to catch me. She wasn't even supposed to know I had come here at all. I was supposed to sneak back home and when she returned I was supposed to pretend like I had never even left the city to go to visit friends while she was gone. Now I would never, ever get to come back. She would lock me up in my room. That was probably better than an asylum or jail, but it was still bad.

"N-no… Jack… no," I gasped through my tears. I was just babbling, but Jack knew exactly how I felt. They all did. My sobs only became heavier as I felt Anna, Seth, Liam, Fox, Matt and Sander close in around me in order to comfort me. But since comfort was something I couldn't get from anywhere right now, all I got was a giant group hug.

"Hush Meg, you're just gonna make yourself sick," Liam mumbled from where he stood next to me. His head was bent slightly so that his mouth was right next to me ear.

"I don't care," I said as my tears slowed a bit. Not because I wanted them to but because I was pretty much cried out by this point. "I don't care," I repeated as I started to hiccup, causing everyone to laugh weakly.

"I'll get you some water," Matt said with a resigned sigh. Normally when people were upset, Matt would make a joke. It was usually either a really good joke or a really lame one, but it would lighten the mood and make it easier for everyone to think, but this wasn't normally.

Jack led me over to the table that was situated in the middle of the kitchen. He sat down first and then pulled me down on his lap so that there would be room for all of us to squeeze around the table. Besides, this way he could keep hold of me better. I doubt he knows just how much better his touch makes me feel.

"What do we do?" Anna asked desperately from where she was sitting on Seth's lap, across the table from me.

"Nothing," I whispered hoarsely as Matt handed me my water and settled part of his weight against the table next to me. There were no more chairs, so half sitting on the table was his only choice unless he wanted to leave the room to get another chair. I guess this is one of those times when it's not laziness that keeps you from doing something, its fear. Fear of what? I couldn't tell you. It's just that overwhelming fear that floods your entire body and you can hardly remember how to make a sound, let alone getting up and going to get a chair.

"What do you mean?" Sander asked softly before anyone could yell out in protest.

"Nothing… there's nothing we can do. And even if there were, I have to do this, I think. I think I have to go back to tie up loose ends and all that. At the end of the school year, I'm still going to leave. She can't keep me back when I'm a legal adult and I want to go. I'll sue the crap out of her if she does. I don't know how I'll sue her, but I will. I'll… I'll do it through friends or something. It'll be alright," I said after taking a sip of water to ease the dull throb of dehydration.

"Megan…" Jack whispered softly as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "Go back. It makes sense. Just go back. Do what needs to be done. Don't worry about a lawsuit. We'll come for you."

"Yeah, we'll come for you and tell your mother what we really think of her as we carry you and all your things out of the house," Fox said with a determined look on her face.

"Maybe we'll show her what we think of her, Mercer style," Matt said as his eyes narrowing as his fist ground into his palm.

"No violence please," Liam said, shuddering a bit.

"Yeah, no violence guys," I echoed. "It's enough that you'll be getting me out." Everyone nodded in unison.

"Okay, we'll figure out the details later, after school ends. But now, Liam and Seth, you come with me, we'll get Meg's things from upstairs. Fox, Sander, Matt, you guys go get anything she left at Ms. Evelyn's," Anna said authoritatively.

"Tell Ma not to come. Just tell her I love her and I'll see her soon," I said suddenly.

"Yeah, sure," Sander said, nodding his head in agreement. I don't know why or how he understood, but I guess I didn't really know either. I mean, I love Ma and all, but I just didn't want her here. I might regret it later, but hopefully I'll be back in four months, so I won't regret it for long.

Once everyone else was gone, it was just Jack and me. He turned me around so that I was straddling him. "This is a bit naughty, don't you think?" I asked weakly, trying to make things at least a little bit better even though I felt myself losing it just a little bit more with each passing second.

"Maybe, but I don't care," Jack mumbled as wrapped his arms around my waist, effectively pulling me closer.

"I wanna stay here with you, like this, forever," I said softly as I rest my head against Jack's shoulder.

"Me too," Jack replied as I nuzzled my nose up against his neck, letting my lips brush up against his exposed skin.

"I'm going to miss you," I said. I knew my breath against his skin was driving him crazy. I wanted him to remember this. I wanted him to remember the way I make him feel every time I did this. It wasn't to ward off other girls. I was secure enough to know he wouldn't date anyone else while I was gone. It was so he could have is fill of me. I suppose he was thinking the same thing when he pulled me off of his chest and roughly pressed his lips against mine. I moaned softly as he poured passion, love and desire into the kiss.

"Jack," I breathed as he broke the kiss. "God Jack," I moaned before pulled him back, my lips crashing into his. There was nothing gentle in this at all. Every movement either of us made was rough. Jack pulled me closer to him, his hands slowly moving under my shirt, causing me to press my lips and body tighter against his to keep myself from crying out. I ran my hands under his shirt in return, running my hands across his toned torso as he continued to inch his hands up my sides.

It was only when his fingers were reaching for the clasp of my bra that I stopped him. "Jack, this isn't the time, the place or the situation I saw us doing this in. I mean, I know you're not really… well… you know. And I'm not either, but it should be… special?" I squeaked. This was such a delicate topic for him and now I was flat out admitting that I wasn't a virgin. Oh, of course he knew already, but it's not something you throw in your boyfriend's face. He was so shocked when I first told him. But the truth is, back when I did it, it wasn't because I was in love or anything. This guy I did it with was just a friend and I… well, we were both really drunk and started to play seven minutes in heaven with some friends. Since we were so damn drunk, our seven minutes in heaven, which probably wouldn't have been more than a peck for giggles and talking, turned into full-blown sex. Neither of us regretted it too much. I mean, better to fuck the first time with a friend you felt comfortable with than with a boyfriend you didn't.

"God, Meg… I… if you don't…" Jack said, stumbling over his words.

"It's not that I don't wanna. I do. God, Jack, if my mother wasn't coming for me, I would take you to the basement and fuck you senseless. But she is coming. Everyone is out getting my stuff for me. They could come back any second," I said sadly.

"You know, it's odd that we're having our sex talk at a time like this," Jack mumbled as he moved his hands from my upper back to my hips, a much safer location, if you asked me.

"I know," I said with a sigh as I begrudgingly got to my feet and twisted my shirt back into place. "I wish I didn't have to go."

"I wish you didn't have to go either," he replied, a sullen pout on his face as he reiterated the bottom line of every conversation I could remember us having in the last week.

"I love you, Jack," I mumbled softly.

Jack stood up and pulled me into a gentle embrace. "I love you too, May," he replied a he set his cheek on the top of my head. "In fact, I wanna give you something," he continued as he pulled away from me. "It's not much, but I want you to have it as something of a promise," he insisted as he tugged a silver ring off of his finger.

"Oh Jack," I said as tears came to my eyes. It wasn't anything special in looks, he was right about that, but the meaning behind it was too much. I knew we were gonna wait for each other but I didn't think he was going to formally ask like this. I didn't think he was going to give me a promise ring.

Jack slid the simple, wide band around my right index finger, the smallest finger it would fit, and kissed the ring before letting my hand drop. "It means that I love you and that I'm gonna wait for you. It means that, not today and maybe not even in four months when I see you next, I'm to marry you. You're my everything Megan and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Jack finished with a lopsided smile.

"Oh Jack," I repeated as I flung my arms around him once again and held him tightly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I'm sorry it's not more romantic," Jack whispered swiftly as we heard the front door open and feet coming down the stairs simultaneously.

"You'll make up for it when you propose for real," I replied, not really meaning it. This was good enough for me. I was a bigger fan of spontaneity than romance and this was spontaneous enough for even the craziest person.

"You're mom's outside," Fox said softly as I pried myself off of Jack. I turned to see all off my friends standing around and holding my belongings. I swear I would give all that crap up to have them with me. Well, maybe not Bree, but everything else, I really would.

"She's getting pissed," Matt said frankly.

"I bet she is," I said softly. "I'm going to miss you guys."

"And we'll miss you," Seth said, speaking for everyone. It was good he did. Everyone else looked as if they were about to cry. It's not that Seth wasn't sad too, but he one of those guys who didn't cry much. I always found that pretty hard to believe, but it's true.

"This is ridiculous. It'll be fine!" Anna said as a tear fell down her cheek. She threw her arms around me in a tight hug and only let go when Seth pulled her away so that everyone else could hug me. Seth hug me next and then helped Anna carry out my duffle.

Next Fox hugged me tightly, yet swiftly before grabbing the stuff he found at Ma's and took it out to the car for me. "Bye babe," Liam said sadly before hugging me strongly. As Liam left with Bree's carrier, Matt moved in for his hug.

Matt gently lifted me off my feet for a few seconds before putting me back down. "Take care of these guys for me, kay? Prank their brains out," I told him.

"No problem," Matt nodded as he walked out of the house, knowing full well that I needed him to take care of Jack for me.

Sander smiled sadly and did as Fox had done seconds before. He pulled me into a bone-crushing hug for a few seconds before turning and going outside so I wouldn't see the tears that I knew were gathering in his eyes.

"Well Jack, it's time to go," I said as I wrapped an arm around his waist. Jack snaked his arm around my waist in return and, together, we walked out of the Kolhegan house.

"Remember, I love you," Jack said as he turned to me. It was time. The car was loaded, all my friends were standing off to the side and it was just Jack and I in front of the black car with tinted windows.

"Same here, love," I replied softly. Jack kissed me one more time before opening the door for me, allowing me to slide into the car. My mother said something to me as he shut the door behind me, but I didn't care. I just rolled down my window and grabbed my boyfriend's hand through the opening, only letting go as my mother drove away. This was the second time this was happening. I couldn't believe this was the second, mother-fucking time. It's not happening again, I'll be sure of that.**

* * *

A/N: Uch. I hate making Megan leave. She and Jack are so cute together. Such awful things happen to such good people. Especially when I'm feeling evil. But don't worry. I'll fix it, I swear.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	21. The Anti Depressant

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 21:**

"I can't focus!" I cried out as I threw my pencil at the wall. Lexie moved out of the way just in time. "Sorry," I said softly as I buried my face in my hands and set my elbows on the desk. This pile of work wasn't getting any smaller.

"It's all right," Lexie said letting out a slightly frustrated sigh as she sat down on the desk next to me.

"No it's not!" I exclaimed as I ran my hands through my hair. "It's not all right. This isn't all right. It's been four months since I last saw Jack. Lexie… it's so hard. I haven't even heard his voice in a month. When I get his e-mails, I lose track of time and miss class because I'm re-reading it over and over again. I'm becoming one of those pathetic, love sick girls," I said shaking my head. "It's not right."

"You're in love. And not the kind of love that lasts for a couple of years and then dissipates. It's the real kind of love, the forever kind. And let me tell you, I'm jealous of that," Lexie told me.

"Me too," Daniel said wistfully. He was sitting at the desk across the aisle, watching some television show on his iPod. It had clearly just finished and now he was ready to join the real world again.

"Yeah, well I'll tell you now, the worst is when you've found the one and you can't be with them. And it sucks even more because I can't begin to think about focusing when we're finally in the home stretch and everything that's left is due next week!" I exclaimed.

"But you managed to pay attention in class until now. You've even done well in all your classes since you got home," Lexie countered.

"Yeah, that's when I had hopes of getting out of here at the end of the school year. Now my mom has people following me to and from school. The moment I get home, I'm locked in my bedroom. I haven't even seen my dad in a month. I don't know why she does this to me. Why can't she just leave me alone? She already has three other children who are her robots," I complained.

"It's because she doesn't want you to 'soil' the Steel name," Daniel supplied. "My dad's kinda like that also. Remember my ex, Lola? Well, I didn't break up with her because I didn't like her anymore, I broke up with her because my father told me that there was no way I was going to be marrying some Hispanic girl. When I told him that we were just dating and I had a long way to go before I got married, he said he didn't even want to chance me marrying some Hispanic girl," he finished, his voice full of annoyance.

"Don't you see how lucky you are Lex? You're parents aren't like ours at all. Sure we have all this money and if I hadn't run off I could be getting drunk and high at some shady party every night, but so long as no one found out, it would be okay. But if I go missing, it's too obvious and I become the rebel, thereby messing everything up for my mother. It's all about her and what she wants. What about me? What about Jack? It's not right that she gets to dictate my life," I said angrily as my hand reached up for my locket, hoping to find some comfort there.

"I know Meg," Lexie said apologetically as she sat down in the chair next to mine and pulled me into a consoling hug.

"And now, this woman's making me turn into some debutante," I said as I pulled away from Lexie and leaned back into my chair. "With frilly dresses, ditzy girls and some talent I have to perform to please said ditzy girls. I also have to have an escort. She wants my brother to take me. I would have to dance with my brother. He's a worse dancer then Daniel is. No offense Daniel," I said quickly.

"None, taken, I suck," Daniel said with a shrug. "But you know who doesn't suck?" he asked.

"Who?" I asked tiredly.

"Gryff. The boy can dance, my friend. You should ask him to take you. Of course, you gotta clear it with sergeant kill-joy, but it should go through. I think Gryff's mom has something to do with those ridiculous debutante women," Daniel said.

"Sounds like a plan," I replied as a small balloon of hope began to inflate in my chest.

"It does, doesn't it," Daniel said proudly. "Oh, by the way, Nina said she's figured out a way to smuggle you your painting," Daniel said.

"No way," I said in surprise. Nina had been trying for two months to get my painting to me. My mother told me I had to stop working at the JCC about three months ago. I suppose she was worried that there was a back door she didn't know about that I would escape through. Ever since then I had been calling Nina every so often to make sure she was okay. Nina's phone number didn't send up any red flags with my mother so it was okay for me to talk to her. To my mother, Nina was just a little girl. Somehow, if I can't get out any other way, I think it's going to be Nina to my rescue.

"Yes way. She said it'll be in your room when you get home this afternoon along with your paints and everything else you might need to finish, along with a new canvas if you get bored," Daniel replied.

"Give her a hug for me, will you?" I requested.

"Sure," Daniel said with a shrug as the bell signifying the end of out free period rang, causing me to sigh loudly.

"Don't worry babe, it'll be fine," Lexie told me sympathetically.

"If you say so," I said hesitantly as I pulled myself out of my chair and gathered my things before exiting the room and heading to my daily lecture. Seniors don't have class anymore come May and June, but we have to come in for different lectures each day until we officially graduate.

"What're you stuck with today?" Lexie asked as we waited for the elevator.

"One of those, 'we want you to make the right choices in college' bits. Which really means 'we want you to represent our school in the way we find proper when you get to college' rambles that we've heard time and time again," I said in annoyance.

"Oh, great, plenty of time for you to sort everything out in your head or whatever it is you need to do," Daniel said with a wink.

"What do you guys have?" I asked, ignoring Daniel. Sometimes that was the best course of action, but you had to be careful because every once in a while he does say something oh merit.

"Some workshop on majors in college," Lexie said. "It should be semi-interesting at least," she added hopefully.

I nodded in confirmation. "They stuck me in that last week. It's pretty decent," I responded.

"Thank God, because the one I went to yesterday nearly put me to sleep. I would rather not waste the few hours I actually spend here these days," Daniel said in displeasure.

"Agreed. Well, I'll see you crazy kids later," I said quickly as I rushed to the up elevator as they waited for the one going down. I vaguely remembered hearing them return the gesture as the elevator door closed in front of me.

Upon getting out of the elevator, I had to bite my lower lip hard to keep from crying. The entire elevator ride I was thinking about how I was never going to get out of here and I was never going to see Jack, Anna, Liam, Matt, Seth, Sander, Fox, Ma, Bobby, Jerry or Angel ever again. Every time I thought about this, it seemed more and more likely it would become true and it became more and more heart wrenching as well.

"Hey Megan," a smooth voice said from behind me.

"Hey Ray," I replied softly. Ray Holmes had been hitting on me since I got back from Detroit and it took everything in me to keep from punching him in the face, hopefully leaving an indent with the ring Jack gave me.

"So I was wondering, would you like to sit with me during our lovely lecture today?" Ray asked. Even if I didn't have Jack I would have said no. This guy was not one I would ever think of dating. Calling him sketchy was a major understatement.

"No thanks Ray, I was thinking about joining Becky and Elle. They wanted to talk to me about something and we decided that now was the best time to get it over with," I lied swiftly. Before even saying thanks for the offer like I normally would, I rushed over to where Becky and Elle were sitting.

"Hey girl," Becky said as I sat down next to Elle.

"Hey, do me a favor and if Ray asks, you both asked me to sit with you. He was trying to make a move on me again and I can't stand it," I said quickly. The two girls nodded vigorously.

"I know what you mean. I would have done the same thing," Elle commented.

"Besides, you have that boyfriend from Detroit," Becky said knowledgeably. I didn't tell either of the girls my deep dark secrets, but when I got home they noticed the ring and asked me. I couldn't and wouldn't lie to them. I wasn't ashamed of my relationship with Jack. I don't think I ever could or would be.

"Yeah, that boyfriend from Detroit," I said sadly.

"Trouble in paradise city?" Elle asked curiously, neither girl really understanding why I was so sad. I never told them anything about my mother physically taking me from Detroit. Sure I told them my mother didn't approve, but I would never tell them all of it. I kept those parts on the down low, only getting advice from Lexie and Daniel. They knew the story for the very beginning.

"I just haven't talked to him in a while and I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to get away from my mother long enough to see him again," I said dismally.

"Uch, mothers don't know anything," Becky protested. "Listen, I know for a fact that this lecture goes fast. Will had this guy last week," Becky said, mentioning her own boyfriend. "He said the speaker doesn't really give a shit and just wants to get the hell out of here. So, after this, we'll go to the bathroom and you take my phone and call your boyfriend. Your mother will never in a million years find out."

"Are you serious?" I asked, my eyes widening. My mother was friendly with all my friends' mothers and had my friends' cell phones on watch for my calls to the Mercers. I wasn't going to flat out ask anyone like Becky or Elle if I could borrow their cells but if they were offering…

"Yes I'm serious. I look at you and I get sad!" Becky exclaimed. "You're going to take my phone and you're going to call this boy. I don't know what good that will do but it has to be better than this," she finished, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of it all. I could definitely agree with that.

"Becky, I don't even know how to begin to thank you," I gushed, a real smile making its way onto my face for the first time in days.

"Don't even," Becky began. "Seeing that smile on your face is well worth my minutes."

"And anytime you want to speak to him, you know where to find us. We'll get you a phone and you can call," Elle said, agreeing with her best friend.

"You guys…" I trailed of as my smile widened. "It's… I can't… Thank you!" I finally managed to blurt out before giving both girls a hug. It was only when I pulled away that our lecture finally began.

* * *

I stood in the bathroom with Becky and Elle as I quickly dialed the Mercer house's number. I bounced on the balls of my feet, still smiling at the two girls as I heard the ringing noise, signifying that my call was going through. It was only when Ma picked up did my eyes begin to water.

"Hello?" Ma asked as she put the receiver to her ear.

"Ma?" I asked softly.

"Who is this?" Ma asked in confusion on the other end of the phone line.

"Ma, it's me, Meggy," I said, this time a little more sure of myself.

"Megan?" Ma asked me in disbelief.

"The one and only," I said as tears clouded my vision.

"Oh Megan," Ma said in relief. I could hear her tears of joy through the phone, which caused my own tears to spill over.

"Ma, I don't have much time. I managed to borrow a phone my mother wasn't tracking from one of my friends at school. I wanted to call to say… well… I don't know what I wanted to say, I just wanted to call," I said honestly.

"Oh it doesn't matter," Ma replied. "It's just so good to hear from you. But what am I still doing with the phone?" she asked before pulling the phone from her ear. I could hear her call for Jack. I thanked every deity listening for keeping Jack at home for this phone call. He could have been out at the Kolhegan's or something like that, but no, he was at home, probably strumming away at his guitar.

"Hello?" I heard Jack asked as he picked up. His voice was raspy as if he had just woken up from a nap.

"Hey Jackie," I replied softly, not believing I was actually talking to him without worrying if my mother was going to pop out of a wall and lock me up for it.

"M-Megan?" Jack stuttered, not quite believing it was me.

"That's what they call me," I said, making a weak joke. I had no idea what to say. Usually, Jack and I could talk for hours about nothing, and now, when I wanted to tell him my sob story of how miserable I've been, I couldn't. I couldn't waste the few precious minutes I had to hear his voice talking and crying. I couldn't waste those minutes telling him stuff he already knew. I had to… well, I don't know what I had to do, but I definitely knew what I didn't have to do.

"Oh God, May, I've missed you so much," Jack said. I could hear the tremble in his voice.

"I've missed you too, love," I replied. By now, Becky and Elle were standing on either side of me, handing me tissues, pretending to not listen in to my conversation and not be completely blown away by how sweet I knew this phone call was.

"I… how?" Jack simply asked.

"I'm on my friend's phone. My mother's not screening her calls so it's all right. She and my other friend said I could use their phones every once in a while, but I don't think I should too often because I don't want my mother to catch on," I said, rambling a bit. So much for not wasting my precious time on the phone with Jack.

"Tell them thanks from me," Jack said. I could hear him clear his throat, trying to keep the tears back.

"I don't have long. The bells going to ring in a few minutes and then I'll have to go meet the thugs my mother has waiting outside the school to take me straight home," I said sadly.

"She's got you under lock down?" Jack asked in shock.

"Yeah, I can't even work at the JCC anymore," I replied.

"May, I'm so sorry," he muttered helplessly.

"It's not your fault," I said, shaking my head, even though I knew he couldn't see it.

"It is. If you hadn't come or if I hadn't needed you like that, this would have never happened. It's my fault," Jack said, guilt oozing from his voice.

"Well, you did need my like that and I did go and I did help. That's the past and we can't dwell on it anymore. We just have to deal with the matter at hand," I said, a sharp edge in my voice that I had never heard before came shining through.

"Yes ma'am," Jack replied weakly.

"Shit, Jackie, that's the bell," I said dismally as I heard three loud chimes, signifying the real end of our lecture.

"I know, I heard it May," Jack said, sounding just as upset as I did.

"I love you," I said softly as Becky and Elle placed their arms around my shoulders for comfort.

"I love you too, baby," Jack replied. "And we're going to get you out of there. I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I'm not going to let you become one of your mother's prisoners," he said determinedly. I think I almost believed him.

"Thank you Jack," I said sincerely.

"Don't worry," Jack added seriously. I swear, even though Lexie had told me this before, this time was different. This time my worry began to ebb away bit by bit. I suppose just hearing Jack's sweet, deep voice returned my hope. I needed this little boost. I needed to hear he missed me and he loved me and that I shouldn't worry from him, not from anyone else, no matter how sure they were that he would say the same things. It's never the same unless it's from the person you want to hear it from.

"I'm not anymore," I said confidently.

"Love you," Jack said again, reinforcing the fact.

"Love you too. Tell everyone I love and miss them also," I replied. "And I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, you will," Jack replied, implying he would relay my message to everyone and that he would see me soon. I stood there with Becky's phone to the ear, waiting for the line to go dead before snapping Becky's flip phone shut.

"Are you better?" Elle asked innocently.

"A lot," I said as I sniffed back any left over tears and wipe my cheeks clean. "Jack says thanks for letting me use your phone, Becky," I remembered.

"Whenever you need it," Becky said with a shrug.

"Can I… well, I was thinking that I would call him twice a week, once from Becky's phone and once from Elle's? I don't want my mother getting suspicious, but twice a week should keep me going unless I get really depressed," I said hopefully.

"Oh yeah, for sure," Elle said as Becky nodded her head enthusiastically. God I loved these two girls. They should be my best friends. Well, maybe it is better that they're not or my mother would be watching their cell phones too and this plan would go to hell.

"I don't know how you mother knows," Becky said incredulously.

"She's got all these random connections that seem to override all logic and usual train of through. I really don't know how she became such a manipulative bitch, but she has and that's just the way it is. But, I better get going. The goons are probably getting a little impatient and that's never good. They report everything to my mother," I said before hugging both girls one more time and rushing out of the bathroom.

All I could do on my ride home was replay my conversation with Jack's. When I got to my room, all I could think about was Jack's voice and the fact that Nina had gotten my painting to me. I called her house but no one was home so I just left her a quick thank you message and got to work. I wanted to finish this for Ma and then maybe make something for Jack. It, along with my new found phone calls to Jack twice a week, would hopefully keep me focused and happy, at least for a little while until they can spring me out of this prison.**

* * *

A/N: I love miscellaneous friends that mother dearest doesn't know about. So nice.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	22. Cat Talk

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 22:**

That morning, my mother woke me up early. Well, maybe ten in the morning isn't that early but considering it was a Sunday and I had stayed up late the night before working on my painting, it was very early.

"It's time for your fitting," my mother called in a shrill voice as she pounded on my locked door, causing me to roll over in my bed and groan loudly. "If you're not up, showered, dressed and in the living room in a half hour, I'll have you bodily removed from your room," she added, which caused me to shove off my covers and stretch out my limbs before rolling out of bed. I rubbed my eyes as I walked to the bathroom and took a quick shower. After that I threw on a t-shirt, some jeans and a little bit of make up. Since the fitting was in our living room, I didn't see the point of putting on anything else.

"I'm here," I said sleepily as I walked into the living room, my feet dragging slightly as they moved from the hardwood floor to the plush carpet.

"Good," my mother said shortly before pushing me up onto the pedestal the tailors had set up. For the next two hours I had every dress material in every color pushed up against my face to see what looked best. After that, for another hour, I had three women sticking needles into me to design the God awful ivory dress. All I know is that it's lacey and puffy. Maybe, just to anger my mother, I'll go into the bathroom after I'm introduced and rip off some of the lace and shit so the thing doesn't look quite as awful.

Finally, at two o'clock, I was finished. I jumped off the pedestal and ran into the kitchen to grab some food before being shuffled back into my bedroom. After hearing the lock click into place, I flopped back down on my bed and quickly fell asleep.

When I woke up, I turned to face my pile of homework. It was four in the afternoon when I picked up my math work and moved to my desk. By the time I was finished with all of it, it was almost seven. I hastily ate the leftovers from my lunch and dialed Gryff's number. Somehow I had convinced my mother to allow Gryff to be my escort in place of my brother and I had to make sure Gryff was still good for it.

"Hello?" Gryff asked after the phone had rung three times.

"Hey Gryff, its Megan," I said as I played with my locket.

"Oh hey Megan, did you talk to your mom?" Gryff asked me curiously.

"Yeah, she said yes. Are you sure you can be my escort? I don't want to impose or anything like that," I rambled a bit.

"I'm totally sure. When is it exactly?" Gryff asked me.

I let out a sigh of relief. Knowing that Gryff would be there, dancing with me instead of my brother was such a relief. "Next Sunday. It starts at 6. My mother's already decided that we'll be picking you up," I said, making something up. Gryff knew very little of my situation. He knew vaguely knew about my illegal trip to Detroit, Jack and my mother's psychotic tendencies, but he didn't really know how all of those things were connected. Not that I didn't want him to know…. well, maybe that's a lie. I've told Daniel, Lexie, Becky and Elle the basics but the rest of my friends I haven't really said much to about the whole subject. Somehow I think that the more people who know, the more messed up it will get. I mean, Daniel and Lexie don't even know about my phone set up with Becky and Elle… I would hate to have them blab even though I doubt they would.

"Sure, that sounds perfect. You know how to dance, right?" Gryff asked me as I felt Bree rub up against my ankles.

"Would I be my mother's daughter if I didn't?" I asked dismally as I reached over in my seat to pet Bree affectionately, causing her to purr happily.

"Somehow I don't think you're too happy about that," Gryff said in concern.

"I wasn't. You know how crazy my mom is," I said tiredly. Apparently my nap was not enough. Perhaps I should stop this phone call now before telling Gryff things I really didn't want to tell him.

"I guess, but this isn't a big deal. It's just a stupid dance, right?" Gryff asked. Shoot, now he's asking questions. I feel some huge urge to just tell him everything, and that's so not good. I bit my lower lip and pulled Bree up onto my lap with my free hand.

"I just… I resent her for a lot of things and this is kind of one of them, that's all," I said softly as Bree butted her face into my cheek. "I really just don't want to be like her."

"I doubt that," Gryff said seriously.

"No Gryff, don't doubt that. If I could tell you what my mother's really like, you would understand," I retorted. I was so close to telling him...

"Why can't you tell me?" Gryff asked curiously.

"I… take my word on this Gryff. You don't want to be sucked into this. We live in my mother's little world where she can do whatever she wants whenever she wants, regardless of how other people feel about it," I said, proud that I had enough will power not to tell Gryff, even though I really wanted to.

"Does this have something to do with your trip to Detroit over winter break?" Gryff fished.

"It has everything to do with that trip. I… it's just such a long story and I'm so tired Gryff. I really don't want to involve anyone else. My mother… she's really a nutcase. I don't want to get you caught up in her madness," I pleaded. I just wanted him to stop before I couldn't say no anymore.

"Alright, I'll drop it," Gryff said with a sigh.

"Thanks. Listen, I'm so wiped out that I think I'm just going to paint for an hour and then go to sleep. Thanks again for all this Gryff," I said meaningfully as I pulled Bree even closer, causing her to squirm a little bit before I loosened my grip again.

"No problem, Meg," Gryff said. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he added hopefully.

"Sure, see you tomorrow," I replied before hitting the off button on the phone. I would have to call Jack tomorrow during lunch. This sinking feeling in my stomach was not boding well. Neither were the tears that were gathering in my eyes. God, I need to get out of here. I can't handle my mother anymore, but I know I'm never going to get out of here. Despite any dream I may have to the contrary, I know the truth. My mother's out of her mind and I highly doubt that Bobby, Jack or even Nina could get me out of here. My hope if fading and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Perhaps talking to Jack tomorrow will help at least for a little while.

"Bree, please explain to me how is this all going to work?" I asked as I moved from where I was sitting at my desk to my bed with Bree still in my arms. The ginger cat simply meowed as I fell back onto my over-stuffed mattress.

"Bree, a meow isn't going to make all of this work," I said, scolding my cat as I rolled over so my back was lying flat on my bed with my hands under my head. In response to this, Bree purred loudly.

"Oh sure, a purr is just so much different than a meow," I said cynically. "Wow, is this how bad it's gotten? I'm talking to a cat who can't even talk back and I'm mad at you because you can't talk back?" I asked Bree. Bree just stood up and shook herself out before coming over and jumping up on my stomach.

"I don't think you'll be able to stay there much longer," I said with a sigh. Bree didn't make a noise as she just curled up and, to the best of my knowledge, fell asleep. I sighed again and allowed my eyes to shut while hoping tomorrow would be a better day.**

* * *

A/N: Megan's pretty much five cats away from being a crazy cat lady, isn't she?**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	23. Planning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 23:**

"So explain to me again how we're going to do this?" Anna asked her brother.

"Well, you see, we're going to go there the week after school lets out and we're simply going to take her," Seth said as he leaned back into his bean bag.

"That's called kidnapping, Eth," Sander commented distractedly as he flipped through the pages of the book he was about to start reading. "Her mom would figure out who took her, come out here and throw all of our asses in jail. Meg would be worse off then before."

"So how are we going to do this?" I asked. I was so sick of them discussing the pros and cons. I just wanted us to think up a plan that would work.

"Well Jack, you're the one who talks to the girl every week. You know what's going on with her. Why don't you tell us how we're going to do this?" Liam asked in annoyance.

"Liam!" Anna said as she elbowed her current boyfriend. "Tactless," she muttered as she pulled herself out of Liam's embrace and began to pace around the tree house.

"What? What do you want me to say? None of us except Jack know where she is, what her schedule is, what her mother's making her do. Jack won't even talk to us about it," Liam said innocently. It was true. I had been pretty distant in the past few weeks, ever since Meg had started to call the house. I never wanted to go out because I didn't want to miss her call, so I spent most of my time in my room making writing lyrics or fiddling around on my guitar.

"I'm sorry you guys. I just… I need to get her out of there and here with me," I said, trying to explain, but failing miserably.

"Well why don't you elaborate as to what there actually is?" Fox asked delicately.

"I… her mother has gone berserk. She locks Meg in her room when she's not at school and when she at school, she's trailed by these two thugs that her mother hired to keep a close eye on her. She's not even allowed to work at her community center," I explained briefly. "She's even trying to turn Meg into one of those clones… I think Meg called them debutantes."

"That's it!" Matt said as he jumped up from where he had been sitting in his regular spot in the corner. "Guys, she's going to the debutante thing, right?" he asked, stating the obvious.

"Uh, dude, that's what Jackie just said," Liam said bluntly as Anna rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

"Shut up Li," Matt grumbled before continuing. "All we gotta do is sneak into that and pull her out from right under her mother's nose. With all the people there, getting her out might not be as hard. She could feign going to the bathroom and slip out the back with us."

"Right, but that's still kidnapping," Sander commented.

"It does sound a bit like kidnapping but how can you kidnap when it's voluntary and she's over 18? In fact, what her mother's doing now sort of sounds like unlawful imprisonment to me," Fox said. It's at this point that I'm thankful I've told everyone what Megan's been going through. They seemed to have a better plan then I did, which was nothing. Sometimes I doubt I would have ever come up with anything if not for the people surrounding me.

"That's brilliant, but her mother's still a nut," Anna commented, pulling me from my negative thoughts.

"That's true," I said. "She told me her mother has all her friends' parents watching their phone bills for any calls to Detroit. The only way Meg's been able to call was because she made some new friends her mother doesn't know about. Meg's mother even has her dad silent. Meg hasn't seen her dad for weeks." I know that if I weren't allowed to see Ma was weeks at a time I would be more than just a little upset and freaked out. I know my situation is different from Meg's, but I understand the feeling.

"But then again, Meg said her dad has to be at this ball thing. Even her mother wouldn't by-pass that tradition. So maybe if we go, we'll wait until Meg's seated with her parents and take Meg right then and there. Her father would let it, even if her mother doesn't," I continued, hoping all my friends would agree. Without their support, none of this would work. As cheesy as it sounds, this is a group effort.

"That sounds like the best plan we've got," Seth stated. I let out a sigh of relief. This might just work.

"Alright, when does this thing go down," Liam said as he pulled himself to his feet. When he wanted to be, Liam was really quite authoritative. Almost like the group leader or something.

"Next week… I think she said Tuesday," I said before biting my lower lip nervously.

"Right, well, here's the plan…" Liam said as he began to assign jobs and put in tiny details that only he would ever think of because that's his job. He was the planner, Fox was the debater, Anna was the charmer and she dealt with the money. Matt's the sly one, Sander's the muscle, Seth handles any technical equipment and I… well, I suppose I'm the driving force behind all of it. Not that they wouldn't do this for Meg on their own, they would, I know that, but if I weren't here… I don't know how it would be different and I'm not so sure I want to know.

* * *

It is an hour after midnight on the day that we'll hopefully save Megan from her mother-imposed hell. I'm nervous as hell. A million things could go wrong, but then again, a million things could go right. That's why I'm so nervous, I think. I hope to God this bus ride goes quick because, honestly, I might throw up from anxiousness if there's traffic. I would hate for my neighbor to be covered in puke, especially since my neighbor's probably going to be Fox. It was decided that he would sit next to me because he was generally so good at stringing so many big words together that I got confused and forgot about being anxious completely. It's a pretty good system but I wasn't sure how efficient it was going to be.

"Jack, relax," Anna hissed as she and Fox sat down on either side of me. Did I mention how much I hated the public bus? Not only did we have to take a coach bus to New York, which you know is going to be a long trip because you're on a coach bus, but we also had to take a forty-minute bus ride to get to the depot.

"What if it doesn't work?" I asked as I blurted out my greatest fear.

"It will," Anna said confidently.

"It has to," Fox whispered almost inaudibly, but I heard it.

"There's no way we can fail," Seth said knowledgeably from where he was sitting cross from us.

"Not with all of us working together," Sander added.

"Sander and Seth are right. It's all pretty flawless," Liam said, nodding his head as he wrapped an arm around Anna's waist.

"Really? I can count a million things that could go wrong," I said sardonically.

"Sure, you could go and be pessimistic," Matt argued. "But that's like to make something bad happen. It's all about mindset. If you think something bad is going to happen, it's going to happen. Don't worry. It's all planned. We even have our get away covered. Jack, we wouldn't have spent all this time working on a plan that won't work."

"Dude, you could give Fox a run for his money," Sander commented.

"Shut up," Fox grumbled as we all laughed at their bickering. Well, everyone but me. I could hardly manage a smile at a time like this. I mean, if this doesn't work, Megan's mother might do something really crazy and then I'd lose Megan forever. It seems that every time we try to be together, her mother makes it harder for us to get together again. Actually, forget the 'it seems like' bit. That's exactly what that devil woman does. I hate it. I hate her. But I think we all do, so I'm not alone there.

"The two of you have got to cut it out," Anna scolded.

"Okay mommy," Sander said brightly, evoking another round of laughter and even getting a small smile from me. It wasn't long before the bus got us to our next bus and before I knew it, we were in New York. It was my first time in the big city, but I was too nervous to enjoy the lights, smells and sounds I knew Megan was so attracted to.

"Alright campers, operation 'Rescue Cinderella' starts in twenty minutes. Everyone go change and get into positions," Liam said, regaining his authoritative tone. We were in the lobby of the fancy hotel the ball was to be held at. All we had to do was get dressed and do what was planned. What could go wrong? I asked myself. We'd gone through it a zillion times. Everything was worked out. Liam couldn't have forgotten anything. Or at least that's what I told myself as I followed my friends into the men's bathroom that was located on the first floor.**

* * *

A/N: Say hi to Jackie! He'll be back soon. Not next chapter, but the one after, I hope. **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	24. Frilly Dresses

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 24:**

I hate frilly dresses, I hate frilly dresses, I hate frilly dresses… that's the only thought running through my head as I sit in this fancy car with Gryff on my left, my mother sitting opposite me and a car door on my right. I was so tempted to open the door and bolt. The thing is, I can't leave Gryff alone with this woman. If I tried to clue my friend in, she would somehow decipher the sign language or hear the whispering and stop me before I could do anything. Fucking bitch. She just can't leave me alone, can she?

"You alright?" Gryff asked me. I was a little unsettled and I couldn't blame him for worrying. In fact, I might have been a little annoyed if he hadn't been concerned.

"Yeah," I said shortly as I shifted in my seat again, trying to make myself feel more comfortable even though I knew that could never happen.

"If it makes you feel better, all those girls are going to look just like this. It's the classic look of the debutante lady. No on goes against tradition in this mess," Gryff said as he tried to reassure me. I didn't really care how the dress looked. I just didn't want to go. I hate manipulative parents.

"Yeah, I know. My mother told me all about tradition and propriety," I mumbled tiredly.

"Well then, no worries. We'll dance the dance we have to dance and then we'll sit the rest of it out," Gryff said calmly.

"My mother's for sure gonna make us dance for at least half of the party, so don't get too lazy," I said in annoyance, knowing she could hear me but definitely not caring.

"I'll try not to," Gryff said in good humor. If only he knew. Actually, I think it is better that he doesn't. That way he'll remain as naïve and innocent as he is right now. I like to see that kind of optimism, even when I can't possibly feel it.

"Right, well, we're here," I said softly as the car stopped in front of one of those fancy, very expensive New York City hotels. I didn't even bother to look at the name of the place. My mother had told me so many times but I never listen to what she says anymore. In one ear and out the other, I believe the phrase is.

"Yeah, we're here," Gryff said as he quickly got out of the car and rushed around so he could open the door for my mother and me. Just what my mother wanted to see. Perfection. Gryff was an excellent choice for a partner. My mother could never disapprove.. He was raised like I was, his mother is one of those debutant women and he was the perfect gentlemen.

"Thanks," I said softly as Gryff took my hand and set it in the crook of his arm. Two more points for the most excellent escort ever. I don't think even my brother could have done this well in my mother's eyes. And I knew she was watching. I could just feel her evil glare settled on us as she climbed out of the limo. It was really disconcerting. As much as I hated her, I hated her glare even more. Even when she was talking to someone she was trying to impress she would have that glare on her face. Maybe it was in hopes that she could scare them into liking her. I think that's how she does it most of the time, at least.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Gryff whispered from the corner of his mouth.

"I guess," I said with a sigh. Everyone's telling me it will be fine. Gryff, Elle, Becky, Lexie, Daniel, even Jack… no one dares tell me it's not going to be fine. I think it's all a charade. They all secretly know it's not going to be fine but they want to trick me into thinking otherwise so I don't have a complete panic attack.

"Alright, here we go," Gryff said as we entered the back room where all the debutantes and their escorts gathered before they were announced. Then we get to ascend the overly dramatic staircase, do a pretty little curtsey and stand off the side with our escorts still at our side. After that, we all get to do a traditional dance. I suppose the only good part about tonight is the incredibly expensive gourmet food they serve. I'm pretty content with a slice of pizza, but this stuff is pretty good too.

"Ladies and escorts, please settle down. We will be starting shortly," the head debutante woman said. I never paid enough attention to learn her name, but I suppose I should know. Hm, I hope that doesn't come back to bite me in the ass later. "Would everyone please get in line in alphabetical order by the debutantes' last names?" she continued before stepping down off the block she was standing on. Man she was short. Even in those ridiculous high heels…

"C'mon," Gryff said, breaking into my train of thought as he pulled me towards the end of the line. Once we were properly placed, the woman came back and made a little speech about what it meant to be a debutante and how important it was for this to go off without a hitch, yada, yada, yada. I didn't hear a word of it. Nor did I care. Gryff was listening though. It's so sad that he's more into this than I am. I suppose he happily grew up with all this stuff. Maybe if my mother wasn't so evil, I could have been one of those dolled up drones like Leah Saranati, the girl standing in front of me. I only remember her name because Gryff had asked her what her name was twice by mistake while we were trying to find where we were supposed to be in the line.

"You ready?" Gryff asked as the line started to move. I could faintly hear the awful debutante woman calling out names. She was getting closer to my name by the second.

"Nope," I said softly.

"You'll do great," Gryff whispered as he tightened his hold on me. That was a new one. No one ever said great. It was always fine. Did Gryff know something I didn't? It didn't matter right now. All that currently matters is walking down that staircase without falling, getting my curtsey right without wobbling and doing the dance that I had been practicing with Gryff for the past week. If I mess up any of this, I can almost guarantee myself hell with my mother. She'd probably stop feeding me. And since I have no reason to leave my room anymore for school, it wouldn't take long for me to starve. I wonder what would happen if I starved to death in my room. Maybe my mother would say I was anorexic and make it out to be a sob story of how she missed all the signs and I caused my own death because of my foolish actions. Not that any of my friends, my dad or Ma would ever believe that. They all know better. But it doesn't matter what they say or think. My mother always gets what she wants.

"We're up," Gryff said as he tugged at my arm, pulling me from my thoughts yet again. God I hate when he does that. Why can I just spend all day daydreaming like I usually do? I mean, I finished my painting and I even used the extra canvas Nina sent me. There's only so many times I can brush Bree's hair and aside from that, there's nothing else to do. I've read every book in my room already and there's only so much sleep my body can take. Daydreaming is the only other course of action.

As Gryff pulled me through the curtain, the lights blinded me so suddenly that all other thoughts flew from my head. "Megan Olivia Steel and her escort, Gryffin Alexander Hoffman," the short woman called out cordially as Gryff led me down the stairs. When we got to the bottom I nailed my curtsey, I sighed inwardly with relief. Two down, one to go. I could do the dance, couldn't I?

As the woman called up the girl who was standing behind me, the lights played a funny trick on me. For a second, I almost thought I saw Sander walking through the crowd, serving drinks. I shook my head to clear my vision and he was gone. Something I ate earlier must be playing with my head. Or maybe, it's what I didn't eat. I haven't really consumed much today. I was too nervous about this and too upset with not talking to Jack for a while. Elle and Becky are off working at some day camp and I'm not allowed out of my room, so I can't possibly call him. It must be getting to me. I quickly blinked any leftover color spots from my eyes and allowed Gryff to lead me out onto the dance floor.

The dance wasn't so terrible. I mean, Gryff's an excellent dancer compared to my so-so dancing skills. I've got some rhythm but I can't really pull off ballroom dancing. That's something else entirely. Either way, I managed to stumble through it with a little bit of grace, which impressed both Gryff and me. Things can't go wrong forever, can they? Jeeze, some time for my luck to pull through, isn't it? I would prefer something bigger to happen in return for all my bad luck. Perhaps a free ticket out of here would compensate appropriately.

Of course, none of that really matters. The big-ticket item on the docket right now is getting some of that overpriced food in my mouth without finding out what it is. If I find out what it is, than it's all over for me. God, it could be snail or something like that and I can't possibly eat snail, no matter how good it is. That's just wrong. But if I don't know what it is, there's no problem of eating snail. It's a good trick, I suppose.

The thing is, it doesn't really matter what I want to eat. My mother has other plans for me. She quickly dished out a few different things onto my plate and then shoved it in front of me. If I don't eat it all… well, I'm not sure what will happen. I've never not finished what my mother put on my plate. I'm scared of a 45-year-old woman. How pathetic is that? I mean, as an 18-year-old teen, I could easily over power her, even if I couldn't put a dent into her bodyguards. Maybe I could pay them off? Then again, that's not so likely. They're probably paid more money than I've ever seen in my entire life.

"Come on, let's dance," Gryff said nervously as he extended his hand for me to take, successfully drawing me from my fantasies. I snorted softly before taking Gryff's hand. My mother was probably shooting him a death stare.

"Listen, Meg, when I went to the restroom during the meal, one of the men handing out breath mints stopped me and told me his name is Matt and that Anna's in the other restroom waiting for you. Does that mean anything to you?" Gryff hissed at me.

"What?" I asked in shock. Matt? Anna? Did I really see Sander before? What the hell was going on?

"Matt, Anna…" Gryff trailed off. "He said they were all here and they have a plan. I don't know what any of this means, wanna fill me in?" he asked hopelessly.

"God Gryff, just keep dancing and pretend like nothing's going on," I said calmly as I plastered a false smile to my face. Not that my mother knew the difference between a real and a fake smile. "Listen, Matt and Anna are two of my friends from Detroit. They've come with my other friends to get me out of here. I don't know what their plan is, but I know that I'm leaving tonight and I'm not coming back," I explained discretely.

"Leaving?" Gryff asked, trying to keep his shock off his face.

"Yes, leaving. My mother's a nut job. She's put me through hell these past few months. They're breaking me out of jail, in a way," Megan explained with a small sigh.

"Where are you going to go? What about your things, and Bree?" Gryff asked quickly.

"I don't know. I really didn't know they were doing this tonight. All I know is that if they do pull this off tonight, I need you to get out of here. Don't stick around because my mother will be on your ass. She'll think you've had something to do with it and she'll probably throw you in jail or something," I warned.

"Oh come on Meg, you're mom's not that bad, is she?" Gryff asked in disbelief.

"Darling, she's worse," I said dully. "I have so many stories I could tell you, but really, I don't have time. Here's what we're going to do. You're going to take me back to the table and from there I'll excuse myself to the bathroom. I'll meet up with Anna, find out the plan and then I'll come back to the table. Ask me to dance when I get back so we can talk, alright?" I told him quickly as the song slowed, signifying the end of the number.

"Okay," Gryff said with a slight shrug as he led me back to the table.

"Mother, I'm going to the ladies room," I said as we reached the table. Without waiting for her response or for her to send someone with me, I walked off. I am 18 years old. I should be able to go to the bathroom on my own, right?

Before entering the bathroom, I took a deep breath. I was ready to hear the plan. I was ready to get out of here. I was ready to see Anna, Matt, Fox, Liam, Seth, Sander and Jack again. In fact, I was so ready that if I had to wait any longer I would probably lose my mind.**

* * *

A/N: We're almost finished darlings, I promise.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	25. Nobody Put Baby In The Corner

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 25:**

As I slipped into the foyer of the bathroom, my only thought was that I was going to see Anna. Anna banana, my best friend and secret lover… oh boy, my mother must have slipped something into my food. Shit, what if she really did and it's not me trying to cover up for my wandering thoughts with another crazy thought? That would for sure ruin the plan. But knowing Liam, he has a back up plan, just in case I was drugged. But I mean, if she did drug me then I would act all loopy and all my mother's friends would think I really am crazy and she'd have a lot to answer for. Yes, she's sadistic enough to do it, but smart enough to rethink it. I think I get that from her. I mean, I don't think it's a bad thing if you use it for something good, right?

Enough! Anna, in the bathroom and please, brain, try not to cause the vocal chords to squeal. Squealing would be bad. Squealing would attract attention. Oh man, I'm so gonna squeal. So much so that I'm practically squealing right now. No, really, I have to stop. It's enough. I have to relax. Act natural. I can't attract attention or all of this will go to hell, and I can't let that happen, I can? I'd be getting all excited to go back to my room and, to be frank with myself, that's pretty lame.

All right, the bathroom. There it is. Take a deep breath. Okay, did that. Now go inside. Legs are walking, door is opening, squeal is on my lips and there she is. It's Anna. I open my lips to let out my burst of excitement but Anna slaps her hand on my mouth to shut me up.

"Meg, I know you're gonna squeal, but don't," Anna hissed, voicing the reason she covered my mouth. Man, she really is my best friend. All I could do at the moment was nod my head. Well, I was thinking about licking her hand, but honestly, I find that inappropriate and not very debutante of me. When I'm in character, I'm in character. Maybe I'll move to Hollywood with Jack when we're married. He does want to be in a band and I suppose that's a good place for him to start. The truth is, we could do that in New York, but we can't really live here. As much as I love it, I can't be near my mother and she's not leaving the City any time soon. Shoot, focus. I have to focus. The plan. Find out what the plan is a go back to the table.

Slowly, Anna took her hand off my mouth. Luckily, my squealing moment was over otherwise there would be trouble. "Anna, hey, I would go through all the dramatics, but I really don't have time," I said quickly.

"Oh thank God your brain has returned," Anna said softly. "Anyway, here's the deal. Matty's in the boy's bathroom and I'm here. Sander, Liam and Fox are scattered around the room serving things while Jack is pretending to be an escort. Seth is outside in the getaway car. All you have to do is wait for Jack to come around and pick you up. He's disguised pretty well if I do say so myself, so don't be surprised if he looks weird. He's devised some sort of secret phrase so that you'll know it's him. He said you would understand.

"After he gives you the signal, you walk over to your mother and father and tell them you're leaving. We've prepped your father already so he knows exactly what to do. You're mother won't be able to contest and then Jack will sweep you away before your mother can get out of the chair. All your stuff is packed and in the car," Anna said as quietly as she could manage.

"Okay, but once my mother realizes what's going on, she'll jump up and stop me with her oversized goons who are blocking the doors," I said nervously. I hope Anna's got a good plan for that one.

"Yes, well, Matty is going to change into a waiter's outfit. Him, Fox, Sander and Liam are going to block your mother's goons. They have them marked and they're ready. I'm also going to change and distract your mother. Once you, Jack and Seth are out of here, we'll follow, no problem," Anan said rapidly.

"But what if you guys don't make it out?" I asked, my voice cracking with nerves. I won't have my friends in danger. Especially since I know they'll be in danger because my mother's a psychopath.

"Oh, we will. We called in a little muscle. Aside from that, we have an attorney," Anna said smugly.

"What? Dear God, you lot thought this through well, didn't you," I said, feeling very proud of my friends at the moment. "But wait, who's your attorney and what muscle?" I asked curiously. I didn't have any more friends in Detroit who could be apart of this getaway scheme.

"Simple," Anna chimed smugly. "Evelyn, Bobby, Jeremiah and Angel Mercer. Evelyn's your attorney and well, you do know how much muscle is on your brothers, don't you?" she asked innocently.

"Anna, you're a genius," I gushed.

"Well, I really can't take the credit," Anna said flippantly. "It was Liam. He's the master planner, you know that," she said fondly. They were so dating. I'd have to grill her on that once I was free.

"Yes, I do know that," I said as my mind began to wander to all the wonderful times we had gotten bored and had Liam plan us some insanely fun escapades. Oh crap. Stop it brain, I need to focus. Just for a little while. Yes, focus. I need to go out there, explain the plan for Gryff and make it happen. I wonder how different Jack's going to look. I know Anna's make up talents are really, really good, but could she really make my Jackie unrecognizable to me?

"Excellent. Now get. I have to go change," Anna commanded.

"I'm going," I said as I turned to leave. "Oh and Anna," I said softly as I paused, just as my hands reached out to open the bathroom door.

"Hm?" Anna asked as she began to slide off her shoes so she could change.

"Thanks a lot. For all this," I said before biting my lower lip.

"What are sisters for?" Anna asked.

"You know what? I love my extended, surrogate family," I said, allowing a bright smile to appear on my face as I looked over my shoulder to show Anna how happy I was.

"So do I, darling," Anna said, smiling back. "Now shoo!" she exclaimed, which caused me to scurry out of the room. I have such a big family. The Mercers, Seth, Anna, Fox, Matt, Sander, Liam… And I have the best boyfriend. I know the past few months have sucked, but what I get at the end of the road, well, it's so worth it.

* * *

"And that's it?" Gryff asked me as he glided across the dance floor with me in tow.

"And that's it," I echoed as I tried to enjoy this last dance with Gryff.

"It seems pretty simple to me," Gryff said uncertainly.

"Yes, but the simplest plans are usually the ones that go off without a hitch. We know that much from experience," I said softly as Gryff pulled me close to him after a rather dizzying twirl.

"Yes, but the best laid plans of mice and men…" Gryff trailed off.

"I know about the best laid plans of mice and men, but there was a female involved in all the planning, and nothing's been said of plans with female supervision, now has there?" I asked smugly.

"I suppose you're right," Gryff said with a sigh. "So what do you want me to do?" he asked, changing the subject ever so tactfully.

"I want you to not stand around and wait for my mother to rain down on you. The minute you see Jack pulling me away, I want you to take the back exit out. Slip out and go home. When you get home go straight to your mother. Tell her some of my old friends from Detroit came and took me away. Embellish on how distraught you are. Maybe even add some fake tears or something. Make it look like you had absolutely no idea. If you don't have a clue, not that you did, my mother can't chase after you. You just have to get to your mother first," I said quickly.

"Does living in Detroit do this to you?" Gryff asked after a moment of silent dancing.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"I dunno. This all seems pretty intense. It seems like your stay away from home has made you more… cunning, I suppose," Gryff stated.

"No, I guess we all have our own special talents and when we got together, we shared our talents and now, collectively, we all think in a similar fashion. I get any and all of my scheming skills from Liam and I get my charm from Anna. I get my fast-talking from Evelyn and my quick temper from Bobby. I get my passion from Jack and I get my technological knowledge from Seth. It's really one big circle. We all help each other in some manner or another," I said thoughtfully.

"I wish I had that," Gryff mumbled.

"I was blessed with that, but it's not too late for you to have it also, you know," I replied. "I mean, when high school ends, I know you'll go off and do great things and have amazing friends. You'll forget all about me and about all of this and you'll have your own little think tank group of friends," I said kindly.

"Where do you get that?" Gryff asked suddenly.

"Get what?" I asked, my nose scrunching up with wonder. I wish he would stop talking in riddles like this. It's getting so confusing.

"You're ability to convince people that it will all be okay. This overwhelming sense of 'just relax and let it wash over you because it's going to happen whether you want it to or not. And when it does happen, you pick up the piece and go off to make those pieces into something better,'" Gryff said.

"Well, I don't know if I got that from anyone. I think I forced myself into that frame of mind when my mother locked me," I replied softly.

"Either way, I like it," Gryff said with a shrug. "But just so you know, I'll never forget you, or tonight. I don't think I could if I tried," he added.

"Stop flirting. I already found the love of my life," I teased. He knew I was joking. That's why I like Gryff. He might have been uptight and less friendly only a few months ago, before I went back to Detroit to take care of Jack, but he's loosened up since then. I think he knows how I'm feeling to a certain extent and because of that, he can be happy for me, even if he doesn't fully understand.

"Right, well, I hope I have the same kind of good fortune that you had with finding Jack," Gryff replied.

"Hear, hear!" I exclaimed, causing Gryff to laugh. His laugher only stopped when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," the brown haired boy said politely. "May I cut in?" he asked. Gryff threw me a cautious look but I just nodded. Yeah, he was on the road to big things.

"Love you Gryff. Good luck," I said softly as I squeezed his shoulder. If I hugged him it would be too conspicuous.

"The same and more to you," Gryff said with a kind smile as he handed me over to Mr. Mystery.

"Hello, my name is Johnny," the brunette said.

"It's nice to meet you Johnny. I'm Megan Steel. What's you're family name?" I asked politely, yet absently, just as I'd been taught to do. Manners were everything to my mother. But then again, so were a lot of things.

"Castle," the boy replied shortly. My eyes widened in shock as I looked up into my partner's eyes. Could it be?

"Johnny Castle?" I asked, my voice shaky as I licked my lower lip anxiously.

"That's right," he replied as he pulled me as close as he could without drawing too much attention.

"So, Johnny, is there something you want to tell me?" I questioned. I knew it was Jack. It had to be. At first I didn't see it but now that he's given me that name, everything's fallen into place. I could just see his stormy eyes through the fringe of his hair and feel the familiar scars on his palms.

"Mmhm," he hummed into my ear, his deep, melodious voice soothing my frazzled, excited insides. "Nobody puts baby in the corner. Especially not _my_ baby."**

* * *

A/N: That's right.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	26. No More Bad Luck

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Chapter 26:**

"You wanna go Mambo on the stage now? Is this the last dance of the summer?" I gasped as all the puzzle pieces came together. Of course it was Jack. He was using my favorite movie as code. Of course, he's not the biggest fan, but I absolutely adore it. The dancing and the sheer realness of the story are astounding to me.

"I sure as hell hope it's not the last dance of the summer. I would love to take you dancing when we get home," Jack mumbled.

"I just love being with you. Promise I get to do that this summer and everything will be okay," I replied as tears gathered in my eyes. No, I couldn't cry, that would attract attention from my mother. Focus baby, you need to focus.

"Okay, enough of the cheesiness," Jack said seriously. "Down to business."

"Al right, but just so you know, if this doesn't work, I love you and I'm really, really glad you went through all this for me," I said, fear in my eyes as I thought of all the things that could go wrong and all the things I wanted to say to Jack's face before it was too late. "Oh, and Anna did a fabulous job changing your identity. I almost didn't recognize you for a second."

"How did you recognize me?" Jack asked, ignoring my worries tactfully.

"Guitar calluses," I said simply. "She can't change that," I said smartly. "Oh and you're eyes are the same," I added. It was true. His hair was darker, his face was a darker skin tone and I think he's wearing a bit of eye make up to down play his eyes or something, but his eyes were still my favorite blue-green color.

"All right smarty pants, we really have to get down to business now. This is going to work and you're going to come and live with me. We're going to go to school together and we're going to buy a house or apartment somewhere together. Then we're gonna get married and have kids and be happier than we ever dreamed," Jack said.

"Now look who's being cheesy," I teased and I allowed hope to swell in my just a little bit. He was describing the dream I'd had more than once over the last four months. Maybe if we both believed in it, it would actually happen.

"Enough," he reprimanded. He had a scowl plastered onto his face, but he and I both knew it didn't really belong there. "Anyway," he continued as he dropped his fake look of annoyance, "when this song is over, we're marching up to your mother and telling her you're leaving. Then your dad is going to say his bit and we're going to leave while she's still shell shocked. I assume Anna told you the rest."

"Yeah, she did," I replied as Jack pulled me closer, but not so close that the all-seeing eyes of my mother would be able to notice something off.

"So let's get moving," I said as the song ended. Jack took my arm, hooked it in his and led me back to my mother. I took a deep breath as we reached the table. If this is how I'm feeling, I could only imagine the nerves running through Jack. He was the one who was going to do all the talking. Or at least I hope he was or I would barf up everything my mother had forced me to eat earlier in the evening.

"Mr. and Mrs. Steel, I'm Jack Mercer. I came here to inform you that I will be taking your daughter with me to Detroit tonight. She is 18, so I'm sure this won't be a problem. I thank you both for your kindness and understanding," Jack said, his tone harsh and proper. That was it? That was the whole speech? Wow, why couldn't I have just said that and left months ago?

"That sounds about right, m'boy. You have my permission," my father said, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. My dad used to be a huge troublemaker, or so he told me. You know how little kids have bedtime stories? Well, my dad would never read out of a book. He would always tell me a story about some prank he pulled with his friends when he was younger. Most of the time, I wouldn't go to bed and we'd be up all night giggling. I'll never forget it. In fact, I'll probably be telling my kids those stories some day.

"We'll be going now," Jack said softly.

"And don't you come back now," my father warned jovially. I was going to miss him a lot. I was always a daddy's girl but I knew, just as he knew, that this was the only way.

"C'mon," Jack hissed as he pulled at my arm.

I nodded and said, "I love you daddy." My dad just nodded as Jack and I took off. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Gryff ducking out the back and hurry out of the building, so, following his lead, I paused for a moment and took off my high heels. After that, I hitched up my skirt, took Jack's hand and started to run. We needed to get out and we needed to get out now.

"This way!" Jack exclaimed as he pulled me towards a van, whose side door was wide open. We scrambled into the back and slammed the door shut behind us. "Go Seth, go!" he yelled as the car jerked into motion.

I flopped backwards in relief and landed on something soft. I turned around to see two duffels, one piled on top of the other. It was my stuff. I could also see Bree's carrier in the shadows. And my paintings! It's all here. Anything I could ever want was right here, in the back of this van. I never, ever wanted to leave.

"Hey," Jack said softly as he noticed the tears gathering in my eyes. "Baby, what's the matter?" he asked me as he pulled me closer to him.

"This dress!" I exclaimed as I tugged at the frills insistently.

"Is that all?" Jack said through laughter.

"It's not funny. I hate frills," I said as my tears began to fall and I started to laugh.

"Alright, hang on," Jack said mirthfully as he unzipped one of the duffels that were stacked behind me and pulled out a t-shirt and some sweatpants. "I packed these at the top because I thought you might want them," he said as he handed them over to me.

"You're too good to me," I said softly as Jack turned away without me asking so I could slide off my dress and shimmy into the sweats and shirt he brought me.

"No, you're too good to me," Jack mumbled as I crawled over to him and settled down in his open arms.

"Okay, you two, I was going to leave you alone about all this, but I can hear everything and the gushiness is getting to me. I only closed this so I wouldn't have to see you two make out, but since you're not doing anything like that, I think I'll keep it open, alright?" Seth said from where he was sitting in the front seat as he pushed open the panel that separated the front and the back of the van.

"I love you too, Seth," I said as I reluctantly pulled myself from Jack's arms and poked my head through the opening so I could peck him on the check.

"Yeah, yeah, go back to the flirting and the cuddling," Seth mumbled.

"You're just jealous, bro," Jack laughed as I did just as Seth requested and returned to my boyfriend's warm, comforting embrace.

"Maybe," Seth said, shaking his head uncertainly. He had always had trouble getting a girl and keeping her.

"Don't worry, Sethy," I said softly as I pushed myself closer to Jack. I couldn't get enough of his smell, his warmth and his touch. I know I was trying to make Seth feel better but I was so focused on Jack. I've been telling myself to focus all night and I suppose I'm finally doing it. Only, instead of focusing on the plan, I'm focusing on Jack. Can you really blame me? I'm free. Wait a minute…

"I'm free?" I asked, voicing my disbelief.

"Yeah babe, you're as free as… well, as free as Bobby is the second he gets out of jail, right before he goes off and does something stupid to get himself landed back in there," Jack said thoughtfully, evoking a laugh from both me and Seth.

"Right, well I have no plans whatsoever of going back to jail," I said with a peaceful smile on my face. No, no plans at all of going back to my mother. I don't know why Bobby spends so much time in prison. It's really not a fun place to be unless the real prison was better than my mother. Oh man I hope it is. But honestly, could anything be worse then my mother?

"And we have no plans of letting you go back there," Seth said determinedly.

"So wait, where are we going now?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"To the bus depot. Everyone else should already be there and then we're off," Jack said cheerfully as he planted a kiss on the top of my head.

"Oh, so now you start with that stuff. Of course you wait until I open the divider to be gross," Seth said unhappily.

"Shut up Seth," I mumbled softly as I savored the feel of Jack's lips anywhere on my body. He could be kissing my arm and I wouldn't care. You know, if he were kissing my arm, I'd probably just redirect him to my lips, so it all works out.

"Play nice, you two," Jack scolded as Seth finally brought the van to a stop. When I got out of the van, laden with a duffel and Bree's carrier, I was nearly run over by a bunch of over-enthusiastic teens.

"We'll take that," Sander said as he and Matt took my duffel from me after both of them had given me my customary salutations hug. Once the duffel was gone, Anna threw herself into my arms. It was kind of awkward seeing as though one hand was still busy holding Bree's carrier, but it was okay.

"Let her breathe, darling," Liam said drolly as Anna pulled away sheepishly.

"I don't mind," I said as I put down Bree's carrier so I could hug Liam, Fox and Seth properly. "Hey, were are Ma, Bobby, Jerry and Angel?" I asked curiously. Anna had said they were here.

"They're finishing off some business. They'll meet us in Detroit in a few days, I suppose," Anna said flippantly. "But forget that. We're going home!" she exclaimed as she took Bree's carrier and my two canvases. I shrugged as I watched Fox and Liam walking away carrying one of my duffels while Sander and Matt had the other. Anna had Bree and the paintings while Seth had an overnight bag full of the few things that wouldn't fit into either duffel.

"I have my own moving squad," I told Jack as he came up beside me, my backpack slug over one of his shoulders.

"As long as you're moving back home, we'll always be here to help," Jack told me as he slung an arm over my shoulders. This lasted only until we got to the bus. He had to let go of me so we could board, of course. Once we were seated towards the back of the bus, Jack put his arm around me again.

"So wait, talk to me. Anna, you're going out with Liam?" I asked as the bus began to move.

"How did you know?" Anna asked in shock.

"First, when we were talking in the bathroom, you said that this was Liam's plan and you got a look in your eyes. Usually you take all the credit and there's never a look. And second, you usually sit next to Seth on these long bus rides," I said smugly. I could be a detective.

"Right fine, we've been dating for a good two months now," Liam conceded.

"Uh huh. Anna, we're discussing this when we get home," I told my friend.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Anna said happily.

"By the way, where am I staying when we do get home," I asked curiously.

"Well, you have options. You can stay at the Mercer's, or the Kolhegan's or you can take your Gran's old house," Matt informed me.

"Gran's house?" I asked in surprise. A pang of sadness rang through me as I remembered Gran and everything she did for Jack and me. If she hadn't died, everything would have been so different. Or at least that's what I liked to tell myself.

"Yeah, when we told your dad the plan, he bought it back from the stuffy man who bought it to begin with. It's yours for the taking," Fox said with a shrug.

"I think I'll take that. I mean, this way, I'll be near you guys but I won't be imposing. Besides, that house needs to be lived it. I never saw it as a trophy house," I said thoughtfully. Besides, Gran would hate for me to mooch off someone else when I could easily be living on my own in her old house, taking care of everything she left behind. "And anyway, this way we can have killer sleepovers," I added deviously.

"Or parties…" Matt trailed off thoughtfully.

"Uh, that was implied dummy," I said teasingly.

"I love you too," Matt said as he blew me a kiss from where he was sitting.

"Hey, stop blowing kisses at my girlfriend," Jack pouted, joining in on the fun. Within the next fifteen minutes, we were all sitting there, making jokes and teasing one another. Honestly, it just felt good to be going home again with my friend and boyfriend. If I could, I would freeze this moment, but since I can't, I might as well enjoy it so years from now I'll remember this night as the best night ever.**

* * *

A/N: So cute.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	27. The Mercer Family

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

* * *

Epilogue:**

"Mrs. Mercer?" a voice on the other end of the line asked.

"Yes?" I asked as I set a hand on my stomach. It wasn't just to feel the bump that had grown over the past six months of being pregnant with my first child. Something was not right and I knew this phone call would confirm that feeling.

"I think it would be best if you sat down," the voice said. I did as the voice told me. I now knew that my gut feeling was right.

"I'm sitting," I said softly.

"Mrs. Mercer, your husband was caught in a shooting this afternoon," the voice explained. I could almost hear a drop of sincerity in his voice. It's hard to believe that this man, who probably had to make tons of calls like this one each day, had any sympathy for me.

"Is… is he all right?" I asked, stumbling over my words. A shooting…. Just like Gran. Please, please tell me he didn't die on the sidewalk.

"He's in critical condition," the voice assured me. As if that was any sort of consolation.

"His brothers… where are they?" I asked, anger creeping into my voice. Why wasn't Bobby calling me? Why was I hearing this from a complete stranger?

"They thought he was killed. The men in the ambulance thought he had died at the scene and your brothers-in-law were gone by the time the medics realized their mistake. The only number in your husband's wallet was this one," the voice said.

"I… I'll be down in a bit," I said softly as I hung up the phone and got my purse. I wasn't going to cry. At least, not until I saw him.

* * *

"I know you can't hear me, but Jack, please, I need you to be all right," I whispered as I wrapped my hands around one of his. I could tell how they thought he was dead, even if that was a week ago. He's so cold and pale. If I didn't hear the beeping of the monitors that were telling me he was alive, I might not believe it.

"Hey girl," Bobby's rough voice said as he walked into the room. "I brought you some tea."

"Thanks Bobby," I said softly as I took the tea from his bruised hands.

"You know I'm sorry about all this, Meg," Bobby said after a few minutes.

"I know. I'm just glad it's all over. No more threats. No more Sweet. I just want him to wake up. He's been out for a week now, Bobby. What if he never wakes up? How am I supposed to have this baby without him?" I asked Bobby helplessly.

"He'll be fine," Bobby whispered as he set a comforting hand on my shoulder, even though we both knew that the only thing that would make me really feel better would be if Jack woke up.

"I know, I know, he's a fighter," I mumbled as I sniffed back oncoming tears. I couldn't cry anymore. There were no more tears left in me.

"Go home and get some sleep, girl. Sitting here like this isn't good for you or the baby," Bobby reprimanded me. He was right. I was only hurting the baby by sitting here like this, but I couldn't tear myself from Jack's side. What if he woke up and I wasn't here?

"I'll keep an eye on him and I'll call you the minute he wakes up," Bobby reassured.

"I suppose," I sighed as I pushed myself out of my seat. It was getting harder and harder for me to walk with all this weight being added onto me as the days passed. I was six months in and I was only going to get bigger. I could hardly imagine how hard it was going to be for me to walk in another month.

"That's right, you suppose. Go home and get some sleep," Bobby pressed with a small smile on his face. "G'night Meg and my unborn niece or nephew."

"Good night to you too, my unwanted brother-in-law," I said charmingly was I walked out the door to Jack's hospital room.

* * *

Another week passed and everything was the same as it was the week before. Jack was still out and Bobby had come in once again and told me that I needed to get some sleep. It was almost like a routine. I took the day shift and then Bobby came over to relieve me at night. He always was a night person. Jerry came in sometime during the day so I could get some lunch and Angel… well, Angel went back to the Navy. He couldn't stay much longer, no matter how much he wanted to. The rest of my friends would drop by when they could. You could hardly ask a group of six people to drop their entire lives to watch another one of their friends sleep all day.

Tonight was different, though. Just as I was finally falling asleep, my phone rang. "Hello," I mumbled tiredly as I picked up the receiver.

"Meg, Jack's awake," Bobby said hurriedly.

"What?" I asked as I bolted up in bed. It'd been two weeks and I was losing hope. This news was more than a big surprise to me.

"He's awake, Meggy," Bobby repeated.

"I… I'll be right there. Do me a favor and call Anna. She'll tell everyone else," I said as I pushed myself out of bed and hurried to get dressed.

"I'm on it. See you in a few minutes," Bobby said before I hung up the phone. I was so rushed I almost forgot my purse. Lucky for me, I managed to grab it before running to the door. I almost tripped over Bree on my way out.

"Bree, go to your room. I'll be back soon. Daddy's awake," I told my tabby cat. She was still young in cat years, but she was getting slightly fatter each year. "And stop eating," I commanded her. She mewed and walked away, her tail swaying in the air as a response. "Sure, right, I'm going," I told myself as I walked out of the house.

* * *

"Hey Jackie," I said softly as tears sprang to my eyes. Bobby and Jerry had both just left the room, leaving me with my husband. As I took his hand, I was pleased to notice it was just as warm as mine.

"Hey yourself," Jack said weakly.

"Promise me something," I said before biting my lower lip, trying to hold back the tears.

"Anything, as long as you promise to stop crying so much," Jack told me with a small smile on his face.

"Alright," I said as I sniffed back my tears and wiped my face dry. "Promise me that we won't raise our baby in this. I… Jack I can't have my children grow up in this. I don't know how you, Anna, Seth, Liam, Fox, Sander and Matt managed to grow up so well here, but I won't take chances with my baby. And I know you don't want to leave Detroit. I know you don't want to move away from your family, but I just can't stay here."

"I… I guess I understand, but where are we going to go?" Jack asked. God, I was so glad he understood. I thought maybe he would protest. Everything he knows is here. I guess he was sick of getting shot at as well.

"My mom… she and my dad finally divorced. My dad called me the day before you got shot. I was going to tell you but instead… well, you were here and I couldn't. But I've talked to my dad since then and he said that she moved to Paris where the rest of her family is. My dad sold the big apartment and bought two smaller ones on the East side. He said we can have one and he would keep the other for him and his girlfriend. Can you believe that? My daddy's had a girlfriend for the past four months and I had no idea," I said shaking my head at the idea.

"I… wow, that's a lot to take in," Jack said shortly. I couldn't really read his expression.

"I know, but I think it would be best. You know Bobby's not going to hang around much longer and I know Jerry's talking about taking over Ma's house and selling his. Angel… well, he's never around as it is. I think it would be best if we leave. And Detroit isn't very far from New York. I have no plans of getting rid of Gran's place, so it will always be here for us to come back to," I reassured Jack.

"Detroit's my home," Jack whispered as he realized what it was that he was about to give up. I knew this would be a problem I was going to have to deal with.

"I know, and we're never going to leave it for good, I just can't raise a child here, Jack. Look what happened to you. What if you had died? It's exactly what happened to Gran. What if it happens again to me, or to you, or to our kids? It's so dangerous here. And I'm not going to say it's not dangerous in New York, but I don't know a single person who's been shot at there," I told Jack.

"You're right, you have my vote. But can we talk about it more when I'm not so tired?" Jack asked softly.

"Oh God, I'm such a moron. I come in here and all I can talk about is moving! Jack, I'm so glad you're alright," I said as the water works started up again.

"May, baby, don't cry. I understand," Jack said as he squeezed my hand.

"Jack, I love you so much," I said, shaking my head in disbelief at my husband's incredible ability to deal with my insanity.

"I love you too. And I love that baby that's inside of you as well," Jack said as he reached over and set a hand on my stomach, causing me to smile. I had missed the feel of his hand on my swollen belly.

"Jack… I found out the sex last week. Do you want to know?" I asked as I pulled the picture out of my bag. I had kept it with me since it was taken, just in case of something like this.

"'Course I wanna know," Jack said, another smile gracing his tired face. At least I can still do something right.

"It's a girl," I told him as I showed him the small sonogram picture.

"Is it?" Jack asked as he looked at the picture for a moment.

"Yeah, it is," I said softly as I watched Jack try to make head or tails of the unclear photo.

"What are we going to name her?" Jack asked with a strained voice. It's so cute when men try to hold back tears.

"I was thinking her first name could be Eve," I said. I wasn't sure if Jack wanted to name his daughter after his newly deceased mother, but I had to put the idea forward.

"I think that's a good idea," Jack said as he let a tear fall down his cheek.

"Yeah?" I asked as I got up from the chair I was sitting in and moved to the edge of his bed. I leaned back and rested my head on Jack's good shoulder as a form of comfort for both of us.

"Uh huh, and her middle name could be Leanne," Jack mumbled softly.

"Why Leanne?" I asked curiously.

"Leanne Hertan was a friend of mine when I was five or so, before my dad started to beat on me. One day we were playing in the street when a car came out of nowhere. I was in the way of the car and Leanne pushed me aside. She was hit instead of me and died," Jack said, another tear spilling down his cheek as he remembered his past. God… if that girl hadn't saved Jack, well, I don't know where I would be today if she hadn't.

"Leanne it is," I replied. "And I think I'll forever be grateful to that little girl." I set my hand on Jack's abdomen and pushed myself closer to him.

"I used to hate her for saving me. When I was a kid I never thought I would make it this far. I never thought I would be this happy, but I am. And you're right. I don't want our daughter growing up in this. I don't want us to be in any more danger than we have to be. If being here makes it more likely for Eve to either die or grow up without us, I don't want to chance it. Call your dad and tell him we'll move as soon as I'm better," Jack told me as he wiped his face dry.

"I love that plan," I said as I shut my eyes happily. Jack was okay, the baby was healthy and we were all together.

* * *

"Is that everything?" I asked tiredly as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

"Yeah, it is," Jack said as he held Eve out for me to take. I smiled as I took my baby into my arms. My baby. I had her only three months ago. Jack and I had wanted to move here sooner, but it didn't work out. It took Jack longer than we thought to get back into shape and then I had Eve a few weeks earlier than expected.

"All right, I'm going to put Evie down. Daddy's coming over in a bit to see how we've settled in," I called back as I carried Eve down the main hallway and opened the fourth door on the right. Sure, my dad bought two apartments instead of having the one big one, but it was still a rather large place.

After putting Eve in her crib and lulling her to sleep, I stood watching her for a few minutes. Everything was perfect. Jack was better, Eve was healthy and safe, this apartment is just what I envisioned and my dad and me could see each other without the threat of my mother. Sure we were away from Detroit, our friends, Bobby, Jerry, Camille, the girls and Angel, but, to be honest, we still had Gran's house and it wasn't like we were never going to go back to visit.

"Hey," Jack said softly as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Hey," I replied as I leaned into him.

"She's gorgeous," Jack told me.

"She looks a lot like her daddy," I said with a smile on my face.

"Yeah sure," he muttered under his breath in disbelief. "Thank God she looks like you. She's got your hair, your nose and your cheekbones. Hopefully she'll be petite like you. God forbid she be a beanpole like me," Jack said as he pulled me closer.

"She has your eyes and chin," I said, not refuting Jack's last comment.

"What, you don't like my beanpole-ness?" Jack asked, pouting as he turned me around to face him.

"I love it, but I don't think it would look so good on Evie," I said, trying to defend myself.

"You're an awful liar," he said as a mischievous look appeared on his face. I backed away slowly but Jack rushed over to me and threw me over his shoulder. I would have squealed, but Evie was fast asleep and putting her back to bed after waking her up would be murder.

"Jack, not now. My dad's coming over. What would happen if he walked in and saw us… well, making another baby?" I asked Jack as he carried me to our room across the hall and tossed me on the bed.

"Maybe we should call him and take a rain check," Jack told me playfully as he slowly slipped his hands under my shirt.

"Jack," I sighed as he kissed me right above my belly button. I quickly shook my head and rolled off the bed. "I told you, we can't do this right now," I said as I tugged my shirt down so my midriff wasn't showing.

"Fine, we'll pick up where we left off later," Jack said, his playful grin still in place.

"Agreed," I said as the doorbell rang. "There's my daddy!" I exclaimed as I grabbed Jack's hand and ran into the front hall so I could open the door to greet my father.

* * *

"I never thought we would have more of these," Jack told me as he sat on the edge of my hospital bed while I cradled my newborn twins in my arms.

"Yeah, neither did I. One would think I would remember how hard it was the first two times, but no, I just had to go and have two at once," I said as I shook my head tiredly.

"So what do you wanna name these two?" Jack asked me as he gently took one of the two boys from me.

"I don't know, but Evie should have some say. She's the only girl out of four. How's she going to hold down the fort?" I asked. I had enough trouble dealing with my three siblings when I was younger. Granted, my siblings were stuck up brats, but it can only get worse, being the oldest girl. Maybe if she were the youngest she would just have a bunch of over protective brothers, but as the oldest, she's going to have to overpower them all.

"She's a very strong girl, just like her mother," Jack said fondly.

"Suck up. You know if you don't start groveling now, you're never going to get back into the bedroom," I said smugly.

"Hey, I don't need a repeat. After Zach was born I slept on the living room couch for two weeks," Jack said defensively.

"Two weeks? I thought it was only one…" I trailed off sheepishly.

"Two," Jack said seriously.

"Fine, you don't have to sleep on the couch, but hands off. We're not doing anything without protection. I have no inclination to go through this ever again," I replied, my voice just as serious.

"Okay, agreed, but they still need names," Jack told me as he relaxed a bit and leaned back next to me so I could see the youngest of our four properly.

"How about Benjamin and Theodore?" I asked thoughtfully.

"You got any smart ideas for middle names?" Jack asked. I smiled softly.

"I think I should leave that to you," I said as a yawn escaped from my mouth.

"How about I figure it out while you sleep?" Jack asked as he stood up and put Theo in one of the small plastic beds that they set out for newborns.

"Sounds like a plan," I said as I handed him Ben. I yawned again as I rolled over and shut my eyes. "When Evie and Zach get here, make sure you wake me," I said softly as I felt myself falling asleep.

"Sure thing, luv," Jack said as he returned to my bed and gently pushed a few stray hairs off of my face.

* * *

"Evie, you better get down here if you want your father to give you a ride to school!" I shouted down the hall.

"I'm going with Lex, you know that Ma," Eve yelled back.

"Right, yeah," I said with a sigh as I picked up the house phone and quickly called Jack so he wouldn't wait around for a daughter who wasn't coming.

"Listen, Evie, on your way home you have to pick up Benjy and Theo, okay?" I reminded my daughter as she ran past, her school bag in one hand and her cell phone in the other.

"Do I have to?" Eve complained. "They're big boys now. Can't they take the bus."

"They're ten. You know very well what happened to Zach when he was ten and tried to take that bus. I believe you were just as worried about your lost little brother as I was. Just do me this favor. Lex will understand why his girlfriend can't hang out for an afternoon and if he's a really good boyfriend he'll drive you and the twins home," I told her.

"Alright, alright! I'll talk to Lex about it," Eve replied as she grabbed a piece of toast out of the toaster where I had left it for her. "I'm outtie, I'll see you tonight Ma, have a good day at work," Eve said as she walked past me and kissed me on the cheek like she and her brothers do every morning, just as I do to Jack every morning. I sighed as Eve walked out the door. I was proud of my family and how close we were, but I kind of miss having Eve as a toddler. She was such a cute little kid and now she was this walking, talking mass of beautiful teenager with a boyfriend that I don't really like.

"Well, she's not getting married to him tomorrow and she's a smart girl. She'll figure it out," I told myself as I cleaned up in the kitchen, grabbed my purse and walked out of the house.

* * *

"I can't believe he's gone," I whispered as Jack pulled me closer to him. The casket was sinking into the frozen ground.

"It's Bobby, he wasn't going to live forever," Jack said just as softly.

"Yeah, but something inside of me thought he might." I buried my head into Jack's chest so I wouldn't have to see it anymore. I'd been worried about Bobby for a while now. For the past few years, he'd been more reckless than usual; running around, doing stupid things, getting thrown in jail, starting fights, killing people. I knew something bad was going to happen, but I didn't want to see him dead. I never wanted to see this casket. I always thought I would die before Bobby did. When I was younger, I thought he was invincible. I guess I never grew out of that idea.

"Don't worry, he's with Ma now, making trouble for a whole new set of people," Jack said, rubbing my shoulder gently as a few silent tears streaked down his cheeks.

"Yeah, he is, isn't he?" I asked as I pulled my face free of Jack's chest to look up into his blue-green eyes. They were the same eyes I had looked into when I was 13 years old, even if there were more lines on his face now then there used to be.

"Mom, I miss Uncle Bobby," Theo whispered as he moved closer to me, causing me to wrap my arm around his shoulders.

"I miss him too, baby," I told my youngest. He wasn't so young anymore. Ben and Theo were 14 now, Zach was 17 and my eldest, Eve, just turned 20, which is exactly how old I was when I got married. Thank God Eve wised up and dumped that boy, Lex, two years back. Ever since then she hadn't been in a serious relationship. Zach, on the other hand, is very happily in love with Anna and Liam's oldest daughter. They had gotten together when we were here for vacation the year before after years of friendship. Anna and I couldn't be happier about it. I swear, we squealed harder than we ever have before. Aside from our kids going out, Zach and Dana were the perfect couple. And then, to make me even happier, Ben and Theo weren't even dating yet. Yes, life was good, aside from this funeral.

"Theo, do me a favor and go find your siblings. Tell them that we're going to head back to Uncle Jerry's house in a few minutes and they should get to the car, okay?" I told Theo as people started to move away from the grave.

"All right mom," Theo said as he darted away from me to find his brothers and sister.

"That kid is too good to me," I mumbled.

"He's trying extra hard to be good. He knows how hard it is for us now that B-Bobby's… now that he's… well, you know," Jack said miserably.

"It's alright sweets, it'll get easier," I told my husband echoing what he had told me minutes before as I swallowed back my own tears. My father had died not too long ago and because of it I was a bit more accustomed to grief. Besides, even though I missed Bobby more than I could express with words, I knew Jack missed him more and I had to be there for him, just like I had to be there for him when Ma died. He was trying to be strong for me but we both knew that it as me who had to be strong for him.

"I can't wait for that," Jack told me as he pulled me closer to his side. We walked like that, his arm around my shoulders and mine around his waist, all the way to the car. When we saw that all four kids were sitting in the car, I detached myself from Jack and the two of us got into the front seats for the car.

It didn't take us long for me to drive us to Jerry's house, Evelyn's old house. He had moved there with his family not long after Bobby and Angel had vacated the house and right before we moved to New York. It just made the most sense. Whenever Bobby or Angel came back home, the two wandering Mercer's would take up residence at our place.

"Everyone out," I said as we got there. I stayed in my place, waiting for everyone to climb out of the car so I could lock up. When all the kids were out and on their way into the house, I saw that Jack was still sitting there, staring into space, with tears swimming in his eyes.

"Jackie, sweetheart, come on," I said, as I reached over and took one of Jack's hands in mine. "It's okay. I promise it's going to get easier."

"But it's not easier now. I miss him," Jack mumbled. "He was my older brother in everything but blood."

"I know babe. He was like my brother too and I miss him so much, but he would hate to have us crying over him and you know it. So I think we should just suck it up and stop being babies, right?" I told Jack, trying to remind myself that my time to be the vulnerable one was at the funeral while his was now.

"Yeah, he would say that wouldn't he?" Jack asked me as I reached over and wiped away a tear that had fallen down his face.

"Yep," I replied with a sad smile on my face. "Now let's go," I insisted as I opened my door. Jack nodded and followed my lead.

* * *

"He did what?" I exclaimed into the phone. "Fine, all right, bring her home. I'll see you tonight," I said with a sigh as I hung up the phone.

"What's up, mom?" Ben asked as he poked his head out of his bedroom. We were back in New York while Jack was finishing things off in Detroit.

"Your Uncle Bobby left us with one more surprise, sweetie. Do me a favor and call your sister. Tell her I need her to come home tonight to help me out," I said.

"No problem," Ben said as he went back into his room.

"God, Bobby, why did you have to go an impregnate some woman?" I asked myself as I sat down on one of the stools that surrounded the kitchen counter.

"Uncle Bobby did what now?" Zach asked as he walked into the kitchen with headphones hanging around his neck. Without waiting for my response he started rummaging through the cabinets, looking for something to eat.

"Turns out you have a little cousin out there, no older than three years old. Your father tells me her name is Sahara, of all things," I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Ma, aren't you too old to take care of a toddler?" Zach asked teasingly.

"I'll have you know that I started younger than most mothers do and that I'm only 41 years old. I could easily have another child," I said indignantly.

"Sure ma," Zach said as he poured himself a bowl of cereal.

"My friend from high school, Elle, just had her second baby," I retorted, trying to prove my point.

"Whatever mom, you don't need to brag because you were lucky enough to find dad when you were 14 and started popping out babies soon after," Zach said, changing his tactics a bit.

"Oh shut it before I take away your cell phone," I said smugly.

"But ma, how else will I talk to Dana?" Zach whined.

"I wasn't serious. Besides, you know Anna and I want you and Dana to get married. Why would I make it harder for you to go about doing that?" I asked my second-born.

"Because you're cruel and unusual," Zach replied as he poured milk into his bowl and took a seat next to me.

"Right, well I would like someone to give me grandkids sometime soon, so I'm not that cruel and unusual," I replied.

"Speaking of, Dana's decided she's going to go to Columbia," Zach told me through a mouthful of cereal.

"Chew," I reprimanded. "That's fantastic! Now you're just a train ride away. It's perfect," I told my son, who was going to NYU in the fall.

"I know," Zach said happily as he finished his cereal, put his bowl in the dishwasher and kissed my cheek before slipping on his headphones and heading back to his room.

"Teenagers," I said with a small smile on my face. "Shoot, I better go clear out a room for Sahara. Maybe we can shorten it to Ara? I'll talk to Jack and see what we can do, because Sahara's just ridiculous. I mean, what is she, a desert?" I muttered to myself as I walked down the main hallway to the bedrooms.

* * *

"She's adorable," I cooed as I took the toddler from my husband as he walked in the door. "Hello, Sahara, I'm your Aunt Megan," I told the little girl. All Sahara did in response was shake her curly auburn hair off her face, look up at me with her big brown eyes and stick her thumb in her mouth.

"I knew you'd like her," Jack told me as he hugged me from behind and ruffled Sahara's hair before moving around me in order to call our children out of their hiding place.

"Where did you find her, Jack?" I asked when he came back with our four children following him.

"I got a call from an orphanage, the one I was pushed into when I was kid. They said that the mother had dropped her off there the day before, only leaving a note saying that Bobby Mercer is the father and then left. They called Jerry first. Jerry was just going to leave her for a bit, I think, until he found room for her, but I went and got her when I found out. I don't think Jerry knows how bad the orphanage can be, especially for a toddler," Jack told me softly.

"Right, well its better this way. I can't believe Jerry's still living in Detroit like that, after Daniela got shot at," I said, shaking my head in a disapproving manner.

"Jerry can't afford to live here and his business is there. He also can't afford two houses, babe," Jack said warningly. It was a very sore subject.

"Sorry," I said softly. I knew all that, I just got so riled up sometimes when I thought about children who were in needless danger. "Anyway, Sahara, I hope you like macaroni and cheese, because that's what's on the menu tonight," I told the little girl I was still holding in my arms.

"Uh huh," Sahara said, nodding her head vigorously.

"And I hope you like the color pink," I added. To this, the little girl nodded as well. "Good, because that's the color of your room."

"My 'oom?" Sahara asked in disbelief.

"Yes, your room. You live here now, sweets, so you better get used to having a lot of boys around," I explained.

"Boys?" Sahara asked, scrunching her nose unhappily. I laughed, seeing the likeness between her and I, even though there shouldn't be any.

"Yes, you see, I have a girl and three boys of my own. Look, that's Evie. She's the oldest. She doesn't live at home anymore but she comes back to visit a lot," I said as I pointed out my only girl. Evie waved and smiled at Sahara who smiled shyly back. "And that's Zach, he's 17. He'll be going to college next year, but he'll also be around," I said as I pointed to Zach. "And then there's Ben and Theo, they're the twins," I said pointing at the last of the teens that were standing around me and Jack.

"Hi," Sahara said softly.

"Hey," all four children said kindly in return, causing Sahara to giggle happily.

"Auntie Megan?" Sahara asked.

"Yes?" I replied as all of my children trooped into the dining room.

"Can I call you and Uncle Jack mommy and daddy?" Sahara asked softly.

At this, I looked up at Jack. I saw the indecision on his face. I knew he didn't want to take Bobby's place, even though I don't think he actually had one in Sahara's life.

"What do you think?" I said, vocalizing my question to my husband. This was clearly his decision. Honestly, if some woman was going to give up this adorable little girl, then she was free to call me mommy if she so desired.

"Yeah, it's what Bobby would have wanted it," Jack mumbled as he left the room, not going towards the dining room, but to the bathroom instead.

"What the matter with daddy?" Sahara asked innocently.

"Did you know your daddy, your real daddy, Sahara?" I asked the little girl.

"No," Sahara said slowly.

"Well, your real daddy was your new daddy's brother and he died just last week, so your new daddy's still very upset," I explained.

"Oh. Mommy said daddy died, and that's why she left. She said that she was going to give me to daddy because she couldn't keep me, but when he died, she left me with the scary lady," Sahara said sadly as she buried her face in my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I promise you, no one's going to die anymore and no one's going to leave you anywhere you don't want to be left. Things are different. You have a family now," I explained.

"Yeah!" the little girl exclaimed as she pulled her face off my shoulder. "I have a mommy and a daddy and a sister and three whole brothers. I have a big family."

"That's right, a big family," I replied softly. "And you still have to meet Uncle Jerry, Aunt Camille, their kids, Uncle Angel, Aunt Sofi and their son, Auntie Anna, Uncle Liam and their children, Uncle Fox, Uncle Mattie, Uncle Seth, Uncle Sander and their families," I told her as Jack rejoined us for our walk to the dining room.

"Are they all your brothers and sisters?" Sahara asked us in surprise as I set her down in the high chair next to Jack's seat and went to retrieve the dinner I had cooked up earlier that night.

"No sweetheart, they don't have to be our real brothers and sisters for them to be your aunts and uncles. Your real daddy was my adopted brother. You see, my mother adopted me, your real daddy, Uncle Angel and Uncle Jerry. All the others are friends of ours who like you guys to call them Aunts and Uncles, if only when you're little," Jack explained.

"So, you were 'dopted like I'm 'dopted?" Sahara asked Jack.

"Yes, we're both adopted," Jack said with a smile. "And we were both adopted into really a really good family; the Mercer family."

"I don't think Ma knew how much good she was going when she took you four in," I told Jack as he carried a big bowl of pasta into the dining room.

"Oh, she knew," Jack replied with a small smile on his face.

"Maybe she did," I said, shaking my head as I began to serve the food.

"Mommy?" Sahara asked when I got to her.

"Yes?" I asked as I put the bowl down and bent down next to her.

"Call me Ara," Sahara demanded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I said with a smile before kissing her cheek and resuming my duties of feeding all my children, whether they were really my children or somebody else's.**

* * *

A/N: Well, that's it. The epilogue. The end. And to be honest... how sad is that? **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


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